


Touch Me Please (Don't Let Me Fall)

by LonelyLittleShips



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anisocoria, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Being High, Crying, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Dry heaves, Dubious Consent, Dubious Morality, Headaches & Migraines, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kidnapping, M/M, Murphy's Law, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pain, Phone Calls & Telephones, Pop Culture, Restraints, Sensory Overload, Time Travel, Touch feels orgasmic, Vomiting, mystery drug, not as smutty as it seems I swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:35:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyLittleShips/pseuds/LonelyLittleShips
Summary: When Dakota overdoses on a mysterious drug with very strange effects, Cavendish calls Savannah for help. As it turns out, the drug isn’t the only strange thing and, as the situation escalates, they can't help wondering exactly why Dakota seems to be at the center of it all.Set early on in season one this story follows its own unique plot with elements from the original story thrown in loosely. This is meant to be a more adult/wtf completely wild ride and I regret nothing. This fic is gonna be a complete shit show so strap in.Massive thanks to team Cavota, this fic would not exist without them.More tags will be added with updates, I'm really bad at tags, but I'm trying.
Relationships: Balthazar Cavendish/Vinnie Dakota
Comments: 25
Kudos: 42
Collections: Team Cavota





	1. Pain, Pills and Panic

It was a shockingly bright day. Shockingly bright and terribly hot. 

Vinnie Dakota was not in a good mood. Not at all. It was only made worse by the heat. He had his jacket slung over his shoulder, his normally fluffy hair was sticking to his forehead in clumps.

“Why are we here again?” 

He had already asked several times, and his partner, Cavendish, had already explained several times. For some reason Dakota still felt fuzzy about it, probably the heat or how annoyed and snappy Cavendish was being. 

“Confoundit Dakota, stop asking the same thing over and over. We’re observing the _boy.”_

“Aren't we s’posedta be doing something ‘stachio related?” Dakota pointed out, wiping beads of sweat from his brow and pushing his glasses up his nose. He was sweltering in his tracksuit and couldn’t help but wonder how Cavendish didn’t show any signs of being bothered by the heat; he was wearing his usual five piece suit and top hat.

“We _are._ You’re the one who pointed out that the boy in question always ruins our missions! We simply must figure out his _modus operandi!”_ Cavendish replied with conviction.

“Fine, whatever, just...can you make it quick? I’m not feelin’ too hot, and by that I mean I’m burning up. Get it? Cause it’s really freakin’ hot right now?” Dakota’s tone wasn’t particularly humorous though.

Cavendish rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, we’ll take a break shortly, but I have a rather strong suspicion that this trail of destruction will lead us right to our target.”

“Hopefully it also leads to a Slushie Dawg or something because that would really hit the spot right now.” Dakota replied longingly as he once again pushed his glasses up. Usually they stayed in place very well, but the excessive amount of sweating he was doing was making them slide down much easier. It was tedious and worrying on such a bright day.

“Well if it does it’s likely to be in chaos so that’s probably not the best idea to hope for.” Cavendish pointed out as they turned at an intersection with a four car pile-up, a stoplight on fire and several dozen farm animals of various types gorging on thousands of snickerdoodle cookies that were scattered around. 

Cavendish continued past the scene, completely unperturbed and determined to get to the perpetrator. Absolutely nothing would sway him from his goal.

“Uh...Cav shouldn't we stop and...see...if anyone needs help?” Dakota asked, panting a little and observing the scene with obvious concern, hesitating as Cavendish strode past. 

“Normally I would, but right now we must keep on his trail, any minute stopped is a minute more we’ll put between us! Besides, I can hear the sirens, everything will be fine.” 

Dakota sighed, ran a hand through his sticky hair, pushed his glasses up and reluctantly followed. Cavendish had made a point, he too could hear the sirens and felt an ever increasing desire to get this goose-chase over with as quickly as possible. 

Dakota hesitated and then froze completely as they turned the corner. 

_Of all the streets in Danville, it had to be_ this _one._

The street itself was a disaster, torn to shreds with downed trees and wrecked cars. It was lined on both sides by huge, mirrored skyscrapers which relentlessly reflected the sun in all its mid-summer mid-afternoon glory. Dakota was being bombarded on all sides, he squinted and threw his hands up over his face protectively. 

_It was just his luck that there was all this damage at street level and none where it mattered._

He managed to unstick a foot and take a step but the space between himself and his partner was rapidly growing. He only dared to peek through the tiniest squint of an eye through fingers tightly clamped over his glasses.

“Cavendish…” he tried not to let his rapidly growing discomfort creep into his voice. “Can we get off this street, please?” He also tried to keep the pleading out. 

“Nonsense Dakota, this is clearly the street that _boy_ came down, we may lose the trail if we try to detour to a different one.” Cavendish reasoned, too focused on the task to actually consider the oddness of such a request. 

“Cav I-” Dakotas protest was cut short cut short as he swayed on his feet, fighting back a wave of intense nausea. It was too late now.

“You what?” Cavendish asked shortly, finally turning around, feeling entirely too irritated at Dakota’s lassitude. “Oh my!” His tone suddenly changed and the furrow of his brow turned from one of annoyance to deep concern. “Dakota are you all right?!” 

“N-not really.” He managed through clenched teeth. “Can we go home... _please?”_ This time he couldn't keep the pleading out of his voice. 

“Dakota if you’re ill I won’t hold it against you for going home but I-” Cavendish began, crossing his arms in a subconscious show of disappointment. 

“No!” Dakota barked loudly, startling his partner and cringing at himself for doing so. He felt himself swaying again as the world became unsteady. “No.” He repeated in a soft but determined growl this time. “You’re not staying out alone. We...we’re partners, we’re s’posta...stick together.” 

Cavendish sighed. Okay _one. One thing_ could sway him. Though at the moment it was the one thing doing the entirely too literal swaying. 

“Dakota!” Cavendish yelped as he leapt forward, rapidly closing the space between them. Catching the other just as the swaying gave way to tipping (thank goodness for long legs). Now that he was so close he couldn't help noticing Dakota was also shockingly pale; Dakota’s skin tone was far closer to his own than it should be. 

“Cav…” Dakota’s voice was strained and filled with pain. He clung to Cavendish’s lapels as he pressed his face tightly into the crook of his shoulder, glasses digging in painfully. It actually caused Cavendish to feel not just worried but legitimately _frightened._ It wasn’t as if the two weren’t used to some physical contact with each other, but this was unlike anything before _._

“I’ve got you.” He tried to sound confident and reassuring as he supported the shorter man but his mind was racing with far too many ideas about what to do. He knew where they were, and where they needed to go, but everything in between was a muddle. He was quickly starting to lose to his own anxiety.

Dakota could tell that Cavendish wasn't dealing with this very well. He should have known as much, his partner was always the one struggling when the unexpected happened. _“Cavendish!”_ He used as much force as he could muster in a whisper. He took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, again, and again. To his relief Cavendish caught on and mirrored him after only a few breaths. 

After a minute Dakota felt Cavendish steel himself. “Right then. Let's go _home.”_

The cab took entirely too long to get there, (of course, with the disasters all over the place) but in that time they walked around the corner to a shaded alley. Cavendish held Dakotas jacket (he found holding it to be oddly comforting, not unlike holding his teddy bear) and kept watch for the cab while Dakota himself sat with his head tucked between his knees, still deep-breathing. 

The cab finally pulled up and they both felt immediate relief upon entering. The driver had the air cranked to the coldest setting and the leather seats were chilled. Dakota took a break from his rhythmic breathing to sigh with relief at finally getting out of the heat and away from the sun. 

_Whoever invented tinted windows should be declared a saint._

The Cab driver eyed them warily then asked for an address, reaching into the glovebox as Cavendish gave it to him. “Here.” He said curtly as he passed a crumpled plastic shopping bag to Cavendish. “Not having mess in cab, da?” It took Cavendish entirely too long to catch on, so the cabbie added, “friend is not looking good.” 

“Oh, yes - right of course!” Cavendish replied, a bit flustered. He felt silly for not immediately understanding. 

The cab driver's assumption had been right (he was probably all too experienced with this sort of thing) and nearly as soon as they were moving Dakota's lunch made its appearance. Cavendish tried to offer soothing pats on the back, but felt it wasnt really helping anything so he stopped after just a few. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly was ailing his partner, he figured it was likely something related to the heat. He felt a knot of guilt for not paying more attention to how Dakota was feeling.

As they approached “home” (it was actually their BoTT office, since Dakota didn’t seem well enough for time travel) Cavendish grabbed his keys and wallet, preparing so he could get Dakota inside as quickly as possible. 

He handed the cab driver way too much money (he deserved it, they were leaving the bag behind) as they slid out and he heard Dakota hiss with pain when the sun's glare hit him, hands once more flung up over his face. Dakota leaned on him as they made their way up the stairs.

As they entered Cavendish was about to flip on the light when Dakota grumbled firmly “No, ‘n close th’ curtains.” He flopped heavily onto the couch and added, “turn off the AC too.” 

Cavendish was affronted and feeling ever more confused by Dakotas behaviour. “Turn off the AC?! But it’s sweltering, you were the one complaining about the heat!” 

Dakota winced. Cavendish was being entirely too _sharp._

“Just do it Cav, please.” He made no effort to hide his rising distress. 

“ _Fine.”_ Cavendish was getting irritated with Dakota's demanding attitude as he did what was asked. As the noisy old unit turned off the room became suddenly significantly quieter. Cavendish found himself surprised by how unexpectedly nice the silence was. He closed the curtains around it, they were thin and some light shone through, but the couch was at the far back of the space and the room was quite dark there. 

In the silence and darkness he realized he could clearly hear Dakota continuing his deep breathing. He felt a heavy guilt bubbling up, why did he always have to debate everything all the time? Normally he just accepted his argumentative nature as part of himself, but he hated that it was getting in the way when Dakota was like this. He approached the couch and asked ruefully, “Dakota, do you need some medication? I ca-”

Dakota cut him off with a soft grunt. “I got some, bottom drawer, dig around.” His voice was barely more than a mumble and he waved an arm vaguely at the desk. 

Cavendish squinted in the darkness and managed to feel out a small bottle among the accumulated junk in Dakotas drawer (the man was such a packrat!) he grabbed it and headed to the mini fridge to get a bottle of water. He glanced at the pill bottle in the light of the fridge and noticed that it was unmarked. He pondered on the origin of the pills for a second before Dakota made a sound that made the growing knot in his stomach tighten suddenly. 

He _whimpered._

“Dakota?!” Cavendish said in a strained whisper. 

“Pills. _Now.”_ That was a _whine._

“Right, sorry.” He dashed over to his partner and opened both bottles for him. 

“How many?” Cavendish asked, trying to be helpful. 

“Jus’ gimme the bottle.” Dakota growled miserably. Cavendish handed it over reluctantly, momentarily distracted by Dakota's lack of glasses, which he noticed were clenched tightly in a fist held to his chest, he let them rest there as he freed his hand to take the water. His eyes were shut firmly and Cavendish couldn't help letting out a horrified yelp as Dakota put the bottle to his lips, tilted and poured an indistinguishable number into his mouth.

“Wait Dakota what are you-!?”

He was horrified again as Dakota actually _chewed_ the pills with an altogether uncomfortable crunching sound then downed the entire contents of the water bottle in a similarly disconcerting manner. He chucked the empty water bottle carelessly and shoved the pill bottle at Cav, who was hugely relieved there seemed to still be a decent amount left. He felt a shiver down his spine as Dakota looked him in the eye…

_Except his eyes were still shut tight. They were shut the entire time._

“Cav, I need you to stay with me. _Do not_ leave.” His whisper sounded as if it held the weight of the world, “Promise you won’t leave.” Despite the closed eyes he felt Dakota’s expectant gaze boring into him. He felt his heart race and his stomach knot twist again, he felt like his insides were being put through a wringer and didn’t know how much more he could take.

Cav hesitated for a moment, then took Dakotas hand and gave it a soft squeeze. He wasn't sure why he did it, but it seemed the right thing at the time, considering a nod wouldn't be seen. He swallowed heavily, gulping down the frog in his throat. “I...I won't. I promise.” He promised with quiet certainty. 

Dakota's eyes popped open as he felt Cavendish squeeze his hand. 

Their eyes met. They met for only a second before Dakota groaned and rolled over, burying his face deeply into the crook of the Couch.

It hit Cavendish quite hard that he had never actually seen Dakota without his glasses. His mind buzzed all over the place, he was already confused and concerned, and now had to contend with how that brief look into his eyes, even in the darkness, had actually made his heart skip a beat. 

And on top of all that, he felt a little flushed. ( _The A.C is off, that's all_ he told himself)

He found himself desperately wishing it hadn't been so dark, it was as if the realization of how badly he’d wanted to see those eyes for all these years was hitting him all at once. He was beginning to feel entirely overwhelmed. 

He repeated Dakota’s calming breath technique again. 

He couldn't let himself get distracted by his selfish curiosity right now! He needed to concern himself with trying to figure out what those pills were. It was likely they were some type of painkiller, but why the unmarked bottle? 

A simple explanation could be that this was just a backup bottle. Yes, that did make sense, still, the way he’d chewed them was extremely concerning. He eyed the bottle, trying to see if the pills inside had any identifying marks but in the darkness he couldn't tell. 

He was trying hard to keep calm but it was difficult without Dakota to ground him. It was hitting him like a ton of bricks that he had become completely unaccustomed to working alone. Now, just like when Dakota had first become ill, his brain just couldn't seem to work out what needed to happen between point a and point b, only this time it was much worse. 

He needed to talk to someone, _anyone._

He looked at his communicator and heaved a sigh, there was only one person he could think of that might be even remotely worth trying to talk to. 

He held his breath and dialled.

………...

 _“What do you want, Cavendish? Going to try to beg to borrow some of our equipment again? Or apologize for that gremlin partner of yours constantly stealing our stuff?”_ The female agent's voice was full of vitriol. 

“I- no, well, yes, I mean I am sorry about the stealing, but no, that's not the intent of my call, nor do I need to borrow anything.” Cavendish managed to stumble out.

 _“Then what do you want?”_ She sounded marginally less acidic. 

“Well, you see...earlier Dakota became ill. I brought him home, well, to our office to recover, but he ended up swallowing quite a few pills of an unknown origin and, well, I’m rather worried.” Cavendish tried to explain as briefly as possible but was finding himself stumbling, unable to keep the worry out of his voice. 

There was a noticeable pause on the other end.

_“Okay, and you’re calling me about this beeecccaaaause?”_

_Because I’m on the verge of an anxiety attack and don't know what else to do?!_

“Because you're the only person I know that might care enough to give me the time of day!” Lord, he sounded pathetic. He _felt_ pathetic. 

“ _Me?_ Really?” Her incredulity was apparent. “ _Wow, okay then.”_

“Well if I was wrong I’ll just hang up!” Cavendish retorted, feeling incited.

“ _Calm down, Candy-Dish, I’m not_ that _heartless.”_

Cavendish rubbed his temple and took several deep breaths _._

_“Okay, moving on. Why didn’t you just ask when he took them?”_

Cavendish tried not to lose his temper again. “I just didn’t get the chance, in the moment, I doubt he would have said anything.” Cavendish explained defensively. 

_“You realize they’re probably just regular painkillers? Why are you so freaked out?”_

He struggled with what to say. He couldn’t say anything that might show he was just being a pawn to his anxiety. “I...when he took the pills he just poured the bottle into his mouth, then he _chewed_ them, that's part of why my concern is...elevated. But...I...I also just have a bad feeling, and we’re supposed to follow our gut so...so that's what I’m doing.” He hoped his excuse was good enough.

There was another long pause, long enough that Cavendish began questioning whether the call had dropped and thoughts of Savannah having hung up intentionally began to creep in. 

_“Okay, fine. I’ll help you_ just this once.” He let out the breath he had been unaware he was holding. “ _But Cavendish, if that gremlin_ ever _touches our stuff again I_ will _report this.”_ Savanna's voice was always serious, but this was a tone that held such purity in its conviction that it sent a shiver down his spine. 

“Understood.”

 _“Why do you even need my help anyway? Why can’t you just look it up yourself? I know you two are completely incompetent but this is bordering on imbicilic.”_ She scoffed.

Her words hit like a punch in the gut. 

“I’m only third class,” Having to explain himself like this was humiliating, but he wasn't about to admit that when Dakota was down he felt like half his brain was missing. “I only have access to the internet from this time, but I suspect the pills to be from our home-time.” Cavendish was surprised Savannah had even asked, it was definitely something she knew.

 _“Then just jump forward then back to the minute you left.”_ She patronized, pointing out the obvious. Of course, that was why. It was a clunky workaround, and very frowned upon but nonetheless it was a common one. He felt his cantankerous nature bite back against his anxiety. 

“Yes I’m well aware of that get-around Savannah and I can’t do it. I promised Dakota I would stay with him, that means staying in this time, even if I could line it up to the very second, it wouldn’t matter, I still will have left him.” He knew this was complete nonsense to her, she would only see it in terms of how long he was _actually_ absent from his current time, not how long he _felt_ he was absent from it.

Savannah sighed, it was the same sigh a mother would make at their two-year-old having a temper tantrum over something extremely silly.

“ _What was he sick with in the first place?”_

Cavendish relaxed a little, no insults with that one, at least. “I think it may have been heat exhaustion, though he seemed to be in significant pain. He was very dizzy and pale, he threw up in the cab.”

A pause, then a contemplating hum. 

_“What is he doing now?”_

“He seems to be asleep, after he took the pills he just...rolled over and hasn't really moved since.” Cavendish watched the steady rise and fall of his partners breathing and found it comforting, it was a relief to see him breathing normally. 

_“All right, well, I don’t know if there's really much I can even do, at least not about your boyfriend but I have a feeling this call was actually more about you than him.”_

Cavendish made a strangled sound. “He isn’t my boyfriend! That’s completely preposterous! But this call IS about him since he could be overdosed on an unknown drug!” 

Cavendish thought he heard her say something under her breath along the lines of _“protest too much”_

 _“Well, if those pills are from the future there could be serious consequences. I’ll try to identify what he took by looks, but so many pills look alike it'll probably be futile._ _Send me some pictures of the pills and I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything._ _Keep an eye on his vitals in the meantime.”_

“I will. Thank you, Savannah.” 

_“Yeah, sure. Keep me posted.”_ She sounded very nonchalant but nonetheless Cavendish felt strangely touched by her saying that. 

“Yes, I will.”

He was alone again.

As soon as she hung up he sent her way too many pictures of the pills, carefully lit with the flashlight of his current-era phone. He kept second guessing whether the images were clear enough and it was only when she sent him a text telling him to stop that he finally calmed down.

While Dakota slept Cavendish distracted himself with music and crossword puzzles but he still couldn't get his mind off what exactly those pills were. There was a good chance they could be some kind of potent sleeping pill considering how quickly he’d fallen asleep, though they also likely helped with whatever pain he was in. All kinds of unpleasant questions and possible answers to them popped into his head.

He went over to Dakota and very carefully pulled off his shoes. Shoes were generally very uncomfortable to sleep in, and they didn't belong on the couch. He wanted to put Dakotas glasses somewhere safe, but when he’d rolled over he had curled his arm underneath him and they were now inaccessible. He was very glad that Dakota was breathing normally, he found it a little surprising just how sure he was about that. He realized it was because he knew exactly what Dakota sounded like when he slept. He never thought about how often he had actually listened to Dakota sleep, but he was a frequent napper and on boring days (when the A.C wasn’t on anyway) Cavendish often worked with nothing more than that and the scratching of his pen. 

After a while he found himself getting a little dozy, tired from all the overthinking, the warmth of the room and just watching Dakota sleep. He contemplated turning the A.C back on, but decided against it in case it disturbed him. He took off his tailcoat and tophat and rested his head on his desk, just trying to keep his mind clear. He was starting to drift into actual sleep and was starting to have very strange thoughts...


	2. He's Got David Bowie Eyes

Just then Dakota stirred. 

“Dakota?” Cavendish asked, he was making odd noises, which wasn’t completely unusual when he was waking up, but it still made him nervous. As Cavendish walked over to him he finally sat up with what seemed like a significant effort. “Are you feeling better?” 

Dakota stared straight at him, his eyes were wide and glassy and his smile was just as wide and unnerving. 

_ Eyes that weren’t covered by glasses. _

“Yeeeeaaaahhh…” The word came out in a strange, drawn-out coo. He flopped back onto the couch and after a moment of stunned silence he unleashed a fit of giggles. 

“Oh dear.” Cavendish’s fingertips brushed against his mustache from the surprise of seeing him without glasses and his bizarre behaviour.

“Cav! Cav!  _ Caaaavvv!” _ Dakota bubbled in a slurred singsong, reaching a wobbly hand out to his partner. “Are  _ you _ feelin’ bedder?” He asked, seemingly attempting to be serious, then suddenly he snorted and started laughing wildly. 

“What?” Cavendish asked in alarm, he wasn’t expecting the question and the urge to see Dakota’s eyes in the light was extremely distracting. His own eyes had become well accustomed to the darkness now, but not enough to satisfy him.

“Chigen bud!” Another wild fit of laughter. Dakotas face suddenly scrunched up with a “Ugh…” and the laughter changed to dry heaving. It was loud and forceful, as if his body was desperate to reject whatever wasn't coming up. When the episode ended Dakota took several deep, rasping breaths then barked, “whoo! Dramadic! Bu’ m’okay.”

Cavendish just stared, completely at a loss. 

_ He’s high! He’s very, very high!  _

“Dakota!” Cavendish asked sharply. “Listen now and try to be serious,  _ what were those pills you took?”  _

“Hmmm wapills? Wadyou talgin’ ‘boud?” 

“Dakota  _ please,  _ this is very serious!” 

Dakota sighed deeply. “Oxy.” He said it very quietly and cavendish barely heard.

_ Oxy…?  _ Cavendish immediately looked it up. 

Dakota flopped back down and began wriggling all over the place, a bit like a cat rolling in catnip, or a dog rolling in something smelly. He laid on his front, rubbing his face into the couch for a minute, then rolled over to his back and rubbed around then repeated rolling over. Dakota stilled for a minute, staring up at the very distracted Cavendish, smiling goonishly. 

“Heeeey Cav, why’s id s’dark in here?” Cavendish was distracted before he actually found what he was looking for.

“You...you asked me to keep the lights off. You want me to turn them on now?” 

“Feeerrr suuuree! Y’know y’lidedup my life, Cav.” Of course this was followed up with giggles.

_ What?  _ Cavendish shook his head at that.  _ What nonsense.  _

“Okay, stay right there, I’ll go switch it on, you’re sure it won't bother you?” 

Dakota tried to nod his head but the action was more like an overdramatic bobbing and made his entire body sway. He looked ridiculous. 

Long legs crossed the room in no time. “Okay I’m turning the light on...now!”

Dakotas enthusiastic “Wooooaaahhh!” Gave way to another spell of dry heaves.

“Dakota!? Are you all right?” Cavendish asked, unnerved by the harshness of the heaves.

“Yeeeaaahhh, are  _ yooouuu?”  _ He replied, voice reedy. Cavendish eyed the air conditioner and decided if Dakota could handle lights he could handle noise too. It rumbled to life doing its best impression of what a machine would sound like if it could catch a cold.

“Of course I’m not the one…” He trailed off as he reached his partner.

He stared in shock at Dakota’s eyes, taking a moment to process what exactly was going on with them. 

Dakota smiled widely and stared straight back. “Ifur gonna haf a starin’ condesd wi’me yer gonna lose!” he challenged playfully, “I got magic eyes thur all wooo-eeeee-wwwooooo-eeee!” he held his hands up to his eyes and wiggled his fingers for effect. “E’re buddy fuh- _ reags _ oud! S’parta why wear m’glazes...Where’re they ‘neway?”

Cavendish was snapped from his trance when Dakota put his hands over his eyes. “Oh, um they were in your hand when you fell asleep, they probably went between the cushions.”

“Oh...yeah, tha’ mags sense.” He shoved his hand down the crack and felt around, his tongue poking out as he did so. 

Cavendish was deeply concerned, what was happening with Dakota's eyes could be a sign that something was seriously wrong. 

“Dakota?” He asked cautiously, “your eyes...is that... _ Normal  _ for them?”

Dakota laughed, “Nuthin’s normal, cause I got th’ eyes a th’ Goblin  _ King!  _ M’gonna steal a BABY! N’  _ dance magic dance!”  _ At the last part he flung his hands up and flailed them, wiggling his fingers. 

Okay, this was getting out of hand. What did any of that even mean? He was completely baffled. Dakota continued to go on about “babes” and “magic”, singing with gusto, forgetting the search for his glasses. Cavendish had the sudden thought that the song might be a reference to something, likely from their current time or before. He searched “Dance magic dance” and quickly realized that Dakota was actually making a lot more sense than he initially assumed.

_ Well that explains that at least. Now...about this “oxy”... _

_ …. _

Cavendish sat down on the couch beside Dakota (who immediately tried to hug him) and called Savannah back.

_ “Cavendish.” _ Was all she said when she picked up.

“(No, stop that or I will go sit at my desk again!) He's awake! And he’s completely  _ loopy!” _

_ "Oh  _ good,  _ that might help me narrow it down a bit because I really wasn't getting anywhere with so little to-" _ Her tone was flat, Cavendish missed some of what she said as Dakota butted in.

“Caaaavvvv who’ya talkin’ta?” 

(“Hush Dakota!”)

“Yyyooou hush y’old bandigoot!” He retorted with a fit of giggles.

Cavendish lowered his voice to a whisper, turning away from Dakota. “I asked him what he took. He told me the pills are  _ Oxy.” _

_ “Oxy,”  _ Savannah remarked,  _ “That’s a pretty common drug from that time period, an opioid with a high probability of abuse. I guess that's mystery solved.” _

“That’s what I thought when I looked it up, but Savannah-” 

“Wait yer talkin’ t’Sandana? Sabana? Shana-na-na-na? A naba-nana?” Dakota rambled, not moving other than the weird wriggling around he’d been doing since he woke up. 

“(Dakota stop interrupting!) Something isn’t lining up. He isn't really behaving the way one would expect from opioids, if the information I found is anything to go by.” 

_ “Okay, you said loopy, what exactly is loopy?” _

“Oh, um, well he's acting not far off from drunk, happy drunk, to be precise. He’s very giggly and unsteady, slurred words, all that. Also dry heaving, as you probably hear now. He’s not at all spaced out, or detached, the way the descriptions mentioned for opioids, quite the opposite.”

They waited for Dakota to finish.

_ “He doesn't seem to be hallucinating?” _

“Not so far, as I can tell.” (“Would you please just  _ sit still!”) _

_ “What about other physical symptoms?” _

“Mmm...I think he’s breathing a little heavy, he is very sweaty, but he did make me turn off the AC when we got here and I just turned it back on now. He's also being very...er, wiggly? He's kind of rubbing himself, no, sorry that's-” Savannah snorted and he was a little flustered by his poor word choice, “I’m not exactly sure how to describe it, it's kind of like he's...getting comfortable?” 

_ “So like he can’t get comfortable? Like he's unsettled?” _

“No, something of the opposite actually, more like he's enjoying the feeling, I’m sorry it's a rather odd thing to describe. (No Dakota, stop trying to grab! I  _ will go sit at my desk! _ )”

“Nuh, don’ do that!”

“(Then be- _ have!)  _ Oh also he has rather alarming anisocoria, but from what I can gather that’s a preexisting condition. Though, his eyes are very, very glassy and he doesn't seem to be blinking much.” 

_ “Okay, that's helpful, what about his pulse and temperature. Wait, he made you turn off the AC? Why? Wasn't he overheating?” _

“I wasn’t sure either, but our un- (No! Just sit down before you fall off the couch!) Sorry, our unit is very old and noisy, so it was likely that.” Cavendish explained as he reached across and placed a hand unceremoniously on Dakota's forehead.

They both yelped. 

Then they both jumped at each other's yelp. 

Though, in Dakota's case, it was more of a slow swing of his head back, which caused him to lean back and his head hit the wall with an audible “thunk”. Cavendish dropped the phone and scrambled to pick it up.

_ “-dish what’s going on!?” _

“Sorry Savannah! I dropped the communicator. I was startled because his skin is burning up and when I touched him he lurched back and hit his head!” 

Savannah replied with a  _ hmm. _

_ “What about his pulse?” _

“Checking it now.” 

“Hey, Dakota,” He leaned forward and waved a hand in front of his face, wanting to give him fair warning about the incoming physical contact after what just happened. “I'm going to check your pulse, can you hold your arm out for me?”

“Mmmmyup!” he flopped an arm at Cavendish with as much enthusiasm as he could manage.

As Cavendish wrapped his hand around Dakota’s wrist the shorter man shivered all over, inhaled sharply and flopped face first onto Cavendish’s lap.

Cavendish let go immediately, staring in horror at Dakota writhing and wriggling, pressing his face into his lap, breathing hard and grabbing at whatever he could reach.

“Dakota?!” 

_ “Cavendish what happened?”  _ Savannah demanded.

“ _ Ooohhh pu’ tha’ baby’s spell on me...aah!”  _ Dakota turned his head and crooned dreamily.

“I...um...I’m not certain myself.”

“ _ Well describe it?” _

Cavendish felt his cheeks burn, “When I touched him he...shuddered, and um...made a sound, a bit like a squeak…”

“Th’  _ cudest  _ squeag!” Dakota added with a giggle as Cavendish trailed off. 

(“I -what no, Dakota, be quiet!”)

He heard Savannah sigh and could picture her rubbing her temples or pinching the bridge of her nose, deeply regretting agreeing to help. 

_ “Do it again.” _

Cavendish choked.

“Beg pardon, but do  _ what _ again, exactly?”

_ “What do you think? Touch him, duh!”  _ He could hear her muttering under her breath.

_ “Touch  _ him?! Now why would I do that?” Cavendish was highly afronted that she would suggest such a thing.

_“Oh relax you prude, I just want_ _to get a better idea of what his reaction to touch is, it could be a big help to finding out what the drug is.”_

Cavendish bit back his urge to retort and simply uttered “ _ fine.”  _ The venom in his tone was enough to match Savannah’s.

He took a deep breath as he felt the heat spreading to his ears. 

He stroked a finger down Dakota’s cheek. 

Why there, of all places? He couldn't say. 

Dakota  _ moaned.  _

“You...you heard that, I presume?” Cavendish asked, flush creeping down his neck as Dakota went through the same reaction as before, though it seemed this time was even more intense. Cavendish was trying very hard to ignore the visceral reaction he was having but it was proving very difficult.

_ “Yup, and I never want to hear anything like it again. I’ll call you back in a few.”  _

Savannah hung up, and Dakota started heaving again. 

Cavendish wondered if this wasn’t some kind of nightmare.

………..

“Tuch-a-tuch-a-tuch-a tuch me! I wanna be diiirrrdddyyyy!” Dakota started singing once he was over the heaving. “Tuch-a-tuch-a-tuch-a tuch me!” He belted as he sat up and ran a hand down Cavendish’s chest, “Bill me, kill me, refill me! Creajure of Delight!” 

Cavendish was still feeling way too confronted by his reaction to his partner's moan. He couldn't take anymore, he was being pushed well past his limit. 

“DAKOTA! That is quite  _ enough!”  _ Cavendish stood abruptly and Dakota was practically thrown off the sofa. 

He landed with a heavy “Oof!”And started giggling wildly. “Oh c’moooon Cav, dun be a pardy pooper! Ya fuddy-duddy bandigoot!” Dakota teased, rolling around on the floor and managing to wriggle halfway out of his pants. 

Cavendish loomed over him with his hands on his hips, staring  _ daggers  _ at him. “You are incorrigible! A complete buffoon! You made me promise to stay with you And then do this!" He felt such a sense of relief as he snapped, pouring out his stress upon his unwitting partner. "I feel like you're just using me as some kind of  _ babysitter!”  _ He paced around the small space, arms and hands a flurry backing up his words. “Honestly, of all the insufferable foolishness you've put me through,  _ this _ is by far the very worst! Do you have  _ any _ idea how stressful this has been!?”

Dakota’s smile drooped and he blinked very slowly. Suddenly he began laughing as wildly as ever, “You...ba-haha-baby-s-hehe-dder!” He ended up with another heaving fit which cut his laughter short. He rolled over and slowly and sat up, leaning against the couch, trying to kick his pants the rest of the way off.

“What’s so funny about that!?” Cavendish asked once the other man was done. He wanted to grab him and shake him, but after the touch incident he was keeping his distance. 

“You, you thing yer sdressed? You goh no idea! Buh yer Cabinfish so wad’re ya gunna do? Whad’m  _ I _ s’posda do?” He finally kicked his pants all the way off. Dakota actually sounded bitter and somehow him being high and bitter was even more off-putting than him being high and giddy. “I wish ya knew. I wish I coul’ tell ya, mebbe then you’d ‘preciade me. I try so  _ freagen hard fer you.”  _

Cavendish’s anger suddenly all ran out of him. Even high, it was apparent that Dakota was being completely sincere. Cavendish sighed. “I know, I know you do.” Dakota looked up at him, smile slowly returning as Cavendish felt his own features soften into a slight smile. “Why don’t we pop the couch down? Then you'll have more room to um...to roll around.” He offered as reconciliation, he felt much better after his little vent, though now that his head was clearer the uncomfortable reality of his feelings was all the more apparent.

Cavendish was pleased when Dakota’s huge smile cracked across his face, “heck ya! N’ we c’n CUDDLE!” He started awkwardly half-scooting half-crawling away from the couch. 

Cavendish’s heart bumped. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea in the state you’re in right now.” He remarked as he lifted and pulled to unhitch the couch from its folded position. 

“Wha’sdade? Sdade of wantin’ you’n me cuddlin’ bare’s babes? ‘Cause I c’n do thad. We’ll be good ol’-fash’nd lover-boys!” He laughed seeing Cavendish go red. “Yer s’dang cude when yer embar’sd!” 

Cavendish’s head spun. He shook himself off and cleared his throat. “We will do no such thing!” He ignored the second half of what Dakota said and watched him climb up on the now-bed that had unfolded to exactly where he was sitting. 

“Ayyyy! M’glasses!” Cavendish spotted them and snatched them up as Dakota was reaching for them. 

“Awe, Cav, waddre’ya doin’?” He asked, a bit of displeasure tinting his slur, blinking up at him questioningly. 

“I know you’d like to wear them,” Cavendish soothed, “but the way you’ve been rolling around you might damage them, and I know they’re extremely important to you.” 

“AWWWW thas’so sweede! Y’do care!” Cavendish frowned at this, was he really that cold to him? Even now, his excuse was care, but really his reason was selfish, he wanted to keep looking at Dakota’s eyes. He placed the glasses on the microwave and decided to grab a bottle of water from the fridge underneath it, guilt knotting his stomach again.

Dakota flopped, spreadeagled and sighed heavily. “This’s nice, bu’ wu’be nicer w’yoooouuu…” He broke into off-key, warbling but nonetheless enthusiastic slurred-singsong. “‘Cause you are th’ one I wan’ ooh ooh ooh, oh th’ one I need, Oh yessin-deed...” Cavendish rolled his eyes and sat on the very edge of the bed, as far from Dakota as possible. Dakota rolled over and kept singing, “c’mon c’mon, move a l’il closer, c’mon c’mon, wanna hear ya whisber, c’mon, c’mon seddle dow’n’side my looOOOvvveeee!” He stretched and squirmed in time with his singing. 

Cavendish was trying very hard not to crack at Dakotas serenading him. Even drunk, Dakota wasn’t nearly this aggressively forthright about his feelings, Cavendish wondered how much of it was actually true, and how much was just the high. Dakota was slowly working his way closer, acting like he was being stealthy and only making himself all the more obvious. 

“Chop chop chop, chop away at my hard! I c’n feel it fallin’...” He smiled expectantly at Cavendish, whose smile finally cracked. 

_ “Timber.”  _ He supplied, with a roll of his eyes.

“N’ now we’ll never pard!” He had managed to crawl all the way to Cavendish. 

“Here, sit up.” Cavendish said gently, opening the bottle for him. Dakota managed to do so but he was very unsteady. Cavendish carefully handed him the bottle, holding it in a way that would avoid accidental contact. Dakota reached out to grab the bottle, as soon as his hand clasped around it he yelped loudly and pulled it away, startling Cavendish who then dropped it. The ice cold water shoshed up out of the bottle, hitting Dakota’s bare legs.

“Dakota!” Cavendish cried as his partner, whimpering and hissing, curled forward into himself and appeared to be in intense pain. “Dakota! Are you alright!?” He wasn’t responding. Cavendish let out his own whimper and inhaled sharply, his heart pounding over what he was about to do. 

He slid his hands along Dakota's cheeks, pulling him up gently. 

Immediately Dakota sucked in a hissing breath and on the exhale a low, soft moan escaped him. He pressed his face into Cavendish's hands, shuddering and breathing heavy. “Dakota, dear, are you alright?” Cavendish asked softly as their eyes met. He realized what he said altogether too late and just let it go, releasing his partner. 

Dakota chuckled and replied dozily, slowly sitting up properly. “Ya, m’okay, jus’ real bad pigs ‘n beedles.” 

Cavendish was confused, “Pigs and? Oh! Pins and needles! I’m so sorry Dakota, I didn’t realize that would happen! Is it better now?” 

“Not really, bu’ kinna cause you touched me.” He replied dreamily. Cavendish's eyes flicked down to Dakotas thigh where the water was still dripping. His head spun but his hand obeyed whatever part of him was in command, (certainly not the sensible part!) and slid down the top of Dakota's thigh, acting as a sort of squeegee, the side of his hand pressing hard enough to push away the water before he quickly brushed the droplets away from the inside and outside. 

He wasn't sure how he managed to do it without completely freaking out, but now he was quite certain he was privy to what Dakota’s climax would sound like. His whole body felt white hot and his brain was absolutely buzzing. Dakota was still recovering himself, curled up tight in a trembling whimpering ball. He sucked in shuddering breaths, mumbling wildly to himself in an incoherent slur. 

"Better?" Cavendish asked breathlessly. 

The mumbling paused as he nodded, then after a brief moment of total stillness he whispered, "More...please…?" 

Cavendish was sure Dakota had no idea how badly he wanted to give in to that request, to indulge in the dizzying pleasure of such intense reactions to the most mundane and chaste of touches. No, he couldn't, Dakota wasn't sober and his senses were clearly altered, to continue would be unquestionably amoral, it would cross lines that were unacceptable. 

"I can't." If saying yes to touching was wrong then why did saying no make him feel so guilty? It wasn't fair. 

"Caaavvv...pleeeaseee…" Dakota’s voice was so absolutely needy, as if denying him touch was denying him something essential, "I need id…" the desperation in his voice was heart wrenching,  _ Hold fast old boy.  _ Cavendish told himself,  _ it's just the drug talking.  _

"I am sorry Dakota, I know this must be very difficult for you, but I simply cannot allow it." 

Dakota whimpered, then burst into sobs. Cavendish was at a loss. He just sat there, staring at the quivering ball of Dakota and struggling to make out what he was saying.  _ "Hades me…" "no idea…" "so sdupid…" useless…" "died…" "love him…"  _ It was getting harder and harder to make out what he was saying. 

Cavendish was extremely confused by what he did catch and found his emotions cycling wildly as he reacted to each thing Dakota said. "Dakota!" He cried in shock, but then wasn't sure what to continue with as Dakota fixed his small-pupiled eye on him with a piercing glare. He steeled himself and crossed his arms, they both just had to deal with it. 

"Don't you  _ dare _ think I said no because I  _ want  _ to, and don't try to guilt me over it either! There's nothing I wish to do more right now, but the simple fact of the matter is you're...well…" He trailed off for a second as he tried to find the right words, "You’re  _ sick _ , and my touching you is only going to make it worse. I could really get in trouble." 

Dakota just blinked at him very slowly. Cavendish got the impression that somehow his excuse was being seen through. He cracked a huge, beaming smile, “Oh I know’m sick, loooove sick! Sick’s a dooog an’ in need’va good  _ bone!”  _ Dakota crooned, swinging his arm around and slapping the bed. 

Cavendish felt himself swoon, as much as he wished he didn’t understand that euphemism he absolutely did and that fact made his face burn up. He’s just about to tell Dakota off for saying so crass when suddenly there was a pounding at the door. 


	3. Something Isn't Right

Before either of them could react there was a massive _boom_ and the door was blown off its hinges. Cavendish screamed and ducked, covering his head with his hands. Dakota, however, did the opposite, he sat up and looked at the open doorway with a curious “Huh…?” before hollering cheerfully, “Hey, it’s B’nana! Yooooo giiirrrlll!” 

Cavendish quickly looked up, “What? Savannah? What are you doing-” Savannah stood in the doorway, looking slightly dishevelled but still dressed to the nines as usual.

“Sabannah, ay,” Dakota cut in boisterously, “ya wanna haffa threesome w’me n’Cav?” He waggled his eyebrows at her, swaying dangerously. Her face scrunched with disgust and from beside him Cavendish made a yelping noise. 

She strode into the room, her disgust giving way to ire. “What the _hell_ is going on?” She demanded, her voice was soft but seething, it sent a shiver down Cavendish’s spine. 

“I-I told you ever-” Cavendish began, still reeling at her sudden intrusion. 

Savannah rounded on Dakota with the fury of a wildcats pounce. She pinned the unsteady man easily, a hand pressed against his chest, her manicured nails digging into his skin through the thin fabric of his undershirt. “What the fuck is that drug Dakota?! What the fuck is it and where the hell did you get it?!” She demanded. 

“Savannah I swear-!” Cavendish tried to intervene. 

Dakota just stared at her, his breathing heavy. He blinked slowly and then uttered, “Fuuugggg I knew ya werea Domme Sab…”

Savannah suddenly pulled back her hand and slapped Dakota clean across his face. Dakota immediately flung his hands to his face as a horrifying keening sound escaped him. He rolled to his side and sobbed, irregular breaths pierced by constricted high pitched whines. 

Cavendish stared for a moment, processing slowly, like a fuse, and when his fuse ended, his reaction hit. 

And then Savannah didn't know what hit her. 

Cavendish was on her, his body was moving faster than his brain. Savannah was on the floor, screaming as a sharp knee prodded harshly into her lower back. Her arm was twisted up, Cavendish's long fingers wrapped around it just below the jewelled golden cuff that was secretly a BoTT gadget. 

Cavendish was often frustrated. Irritation was a daily occurrence. Sometimes, he even went so far as to be properly _cross._ This however, this was enough that Savannah’s attitude looked friendly by comparison. He was truly angry, and the measure of his anger quickly rose so high that it transcended his ability to even process it. 

“If you ever touch him again, well, I don’t know what I’ll do, but just know you will regret it.” His voice had a deadly calm, the flat stoicism a stark contrast to his actions as he twisted her wrist tighter behind her back, making her cry out in pain. 

She stared at him, her one visible eye wide and shocked. Cavendish simply met her eye, staring right back, his face stony. “Dakota is an idiot but I expected better of you. Now, if you are quite finished, I should attend to him.”

Savannah sighed, and nodded silently. 

He was away as quickly as he’d arrived, and was now at Dakota’s side. His partner was still curled into a tight ball, shivering and sobbing. Cavendish’s emotions flooded back into him as he stroked a hand swiftly along his back, causing Dakota’s sobs to catch. “Dakota, are you alright?” 

“Cav…” Dakota sobbed out, ‘I-Id hurds…” 

Oh...oh no. 

If Dakota’s reaction to simple light touch and cold water were so intense Cavendish was horrified to think what pain must be like, the thought made his stomach ache and his heart pound. “Dakota, can you sit up?” he asked gently. Dakota took a few deep but very shaky breaths then slowly rolled himself up. 

Cavendish and Savannah both gasped when they saw his face. The cheek which had been struck was burning red with a swathe of tiny blisters across it, “Oh....” was all Cavendish could say as he stared at Dakota’s face. He looked like a child, lost and hurt, his eyes wide and tear filled, bottom lip wobbling. Cavendish had never seen Dakota in such a state of pure helplessness before and it rattled him to his core. 

He ran his fingers along Dakota’s neck and rested his palm against his jaw, thumb reaching up to gently stroke his unmarred cheek. “Sh-sh-sh, it’s alright, come here, you’re alright.” Cavendish cooed. Dakota leaned forward, grabbing on to Cavendish as contrasting pleasure cut across the pain, his sobs becoming mingled with heavy breaths. Cavendish pulled him closer until he was practically on his lap, a hand slipping under his damp shirt to rub his partners burning hot back. 

“Savannah, get the B.o.T.T Medkit from the bathroom.” 

“Uh...right…” She replied, seeming somewhat dazed. Hearing it over the phone was one thing, seeing it in person was a whole other thing. Not thinking things through had led to consequences that were undeniably unsavoury for everyone involved. She cringed as Dakota moaned. 

Cavendish’s earlier qualms weighed heavy on his mind as he touched his partner. He was trying to ignore the fighting voices arguing the morality and motivation of his actions. _Shut up! It doesn’t matter, stop thinking about it,_ Argued the one voice, _It matters very much, look what you're doing to him! This is wildly inappropriate!_ The other voice countered, _I am looking! You prefer I leave him in excruciating pain!?_ That seemed to quell the fighting. 

Dakota moaned and gasped, grabbing at Cavendish’s shirt and grinding up against him. Cavendish pulled his hand away and Dakota’s pleasured moan gave way to a groan of protest. “Caavvv….pleasseee…” 

“No, that’s enough of that, I was only doing it to distract you.” Cavendish said firmly. 

“Cav…” Dakota sounded more sober than he had at any point before. “Th’s’s th’ worsd...the worsd pain I’ve eber feld...wors’n my eye…” He mumbled it so quietly that Cavendish paused breathing to hear him. 

Cavendish wondered briefly then what exactly had happened to it. He couldn’t dwell on it as Savannah had returned. She drew a deep breath as she approached them. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. No excuses.” Her tone was serious and a hint of remorse did make itself known. She handed the medkit to Cavendish. “I need to know where those pills came from. There’s something seriously wrong, I doubt Dakota is responsible but if he has a source at least I’ll have a lead to go off.”

Cavendish rifled through the kit, he was looking for ointment but also found some other items that would be useful. Dakota squirmed and fought as Cavendish tried to spread ointment on his cheek. “Stay still, if you squirm you'll only make it worse.” He managed to spread a decent amount after some struggle. “I’m sorry Savannah, but I really don't think he knows anything about it.” Cavendish stated, to prove his point he turned to his partner, “Dakota, what were those pills you took?” He asked as he quickly stuck two patches labeled _Fever_ to Dakota's right arm.

“Mmm?” Dakota sounded rather peeved, Cavendish didn't blame him. “Oxy.” He grumbled, “C’n ya gimme some? ‘M really needin’ it.” Cavendish stopped him as he went to grab at his cheek, gently pushing his hand away. The touch made him sigh and hum. He stuck a patch labeled _Hydrate_ on Dakota’s left arm.

“Im sorry but you've had too much already.” Cavendish told him, finding a patch labeled _Detox_ and sticking it on his left arm (he wasn’t sure it would work, but it was worth a shot). “Now Dakota, this is very important, you must be absolutely truthful, where did you get those pills? Be honest.” 

Dakota’s face scrunched up and he looked away from their gaze, curling in on himself. “Spit it out, I don’t have all day!” Savannah barked, she was clearly regaining some of the attitude she’d come in with.

“Nnneeeeeehhhhfrrom a dealer,” Dakota admitted painfully. “I godda ’scribtion, I swear! I jus’ ran oud.” He curled up even tighter, mumbling, occasional words being clear enough to make out, “Painful...sorry...nidemares...dead…”

Cavendish looked at Savannah, brow knitted. “Well, are you satisfied now? I’m sure he has no idea who the dealer is either. Now you owe us an explanation, why did you blow up our door, why were you so worked up, what exactly do _you_ know?” He paused, suddenly realizing something crucial. “Savannah...where is Brick?” 

Her expression turned somber and she pursed her lips. Cavendish got a very bad feeling. 

“Brick is gone.” 

Cavendish and Dakota both gasped. Dakota popped up from his curled up position and both began spewing questions, only ending up with an incomprehensible stream.

Savannah held up her hands, “Stop, stop, stop.” She suddenly sounded exhausted, she sighed deeply, “When you called me I started doing some digging, but it was weird, I couldn't access information that I should have been able to access. I decided we should go to the BoTT to see what was going on.” she paused and frowned, collecting her thoughts. “Brick was with me, but he was acting...strange, not like,” She nodded at Dakota, “level of strange, but strange enough to make me think something was definitely going wrong here, it was too big a coincidence with your call-” 

“Wait...you think...you think Brick was drugged also? With the same…?” It was now becoming very clear why Savannah was so upset. Cavendish couldn't stop himself from yelling as the full realization of what she had just said dawned on him. “What happened!? What do you mean by _gone!?”_ He felt pure panic welling up inside him about what this could mean for Dakota.

Savannah continued to recount the event, her calmness shadowed by a pained look in her eyes. “Well, like I was saying, he was acting weird, we jumped and as soon as we got into the time stream he just...wasn’t there, he wasn’t in the limo.” She said bluntly. “Something, or some _one,_ is fucking with the time stream, or -if my theory is correct- with time _agents_ specifically.”

They both just stared at her. 

“I tried to go back...but every time I tried something went wrong, it was like the time stream was warped, I was able to get to the spot we left from, but not the time, no matter what direction I approached from. If I hit the right time then I couldn't get to the place, things just kept going wrong whenever I got close, I would jump to a different place or time, or something would happen to the car.” 

Cavendish’s brow knitted. “Going wrong…” He muttered, looking to Dakota. “That sounds very familiar.” 

“Murphy.” Dakota piped, seeming more alert, the wiggling had ceased and he looked less sickly. 

Savannah quirked an eyebrow, “Who’s that?”

“Murphy is the suspected counteragent we’ve been tracking.” Cavendish told her, “Block said there wasn’t any, but it would make sense that he wouldn't know about an undercover agent.” he knew she would probably just dismiss it, but it was too big a coincidence not to mention. 

“Yeh n’ Murf’s’not very suspicious,” Dakota added, flopping spread eagle onto the bed, “‘cause he’sa kid.” 

“Wait what?” She asked, startled.

“Ya, sebenth grade, so he’s lig...thirdeen?” 

“And what exactly led you to thinking he’s a counteragent?” She sounded very skeptical.

“It's just like you said, things go _wrong_ , every time we’re on a mission something goes wrong.” Cavendish explained, “The key point is that it always happens when the boy shows up. I know you think we fail due to simply being incompetent, but that is not the case.” 

“Okay. So where do we find him?” Savannah asked, her tone was very serious and surprised both Cavendish and Dakota. 

“You...believe us?” Cavendish asked incredulously, it was his turn to sound skeptical. 

She sighed and rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, “It’s the only lead we’ve got so I don't really have a choice. She looked at Dakota, “Can he walk?” 

Cavendish was about to answer, when Dakota piped up, “I’c’n dry, couldn’d really er-leer bu’m feeln’ a liddle bedder now, kinda dired though.” He waved an arm around lazily, “Where’re m’pands?” 

Cavendish took a moment to think, then groaned, “Ahh, they're under the bed. Dakota, scoot-scoot!” he ordered, shooing at him, Dakota promptly rolled over until he was on the wall side of the couch. Cavendish then bent over and lifted the near end of the couch, the futon bent at its hinged middle and Cavendish held it up one handed as he twisted underneath to grab Dakota's wadded up pants. It was an impressive display of strength and flexibility. He grabbed them and retreated quickly, letting the bed drop with a loud _thunk._ He noticed Savannah staring at him and looked rueful, “I’m um...a little anxious about lifting it since I got my fingers caught the first time.” Cavendish explained, completely oblivious. 

Dakota started laughing.“Tha’s nod why she’s starin’ Cav,” he said through peals of laughter, “she’s neber seen yer freagy bendy sdrongman thing!” 

Cavendish’s face went red and he barked “Shut up!” chucking Dakota’s pantas at him. Dakota let out a startled yelp but he still continued to chuckle. “And hurry up, we’ve dallied far too much as it is. 

…….

Cavendish tied Dakota’s shoes, put his sunglasses on him, then took his hands to pull him up. The contact made him whine and his knees went weak, he collapsed back onto the bed, wringing his hands and giggling. 

“Oh for pete's sake.” Cavendish grumbled, rolling his eyes. He reached into the medkit and quickly pulled on a pair of gloves he found there. They were ill fitted and uncomfortable, but they would have to do. “Alright, one more time, alley-oop!” He grabbed Daktoa’s hands and pulled him up. 

Once Dakota seemed steady enough Cavendish let go. Dakota immediately shook out his hands and rubbed them against his jacket, his face scrunched. “I don lig thad oh-ho-ho no. Ugh, thad’s nod...uh-uh.”

“I don't much care for them myself if I’m being honest.” Nonetheless he shoved them in his pocket after peeling them off. “We’d best bring this.” He said as he snatched the pill bottle off the microwave. 

Dakota was able to walk, though it was more of a drunken stagger. Getting down the stairs had been quite the ordeal but Cavendish managed to guide him down without any mishaps. Savannah stood at the bottom, yelling at them to hurry up, her impatience growing. 

“Put him in the back. You’re with me.” Savannah commanded. 

“’M nod a dog yanno, I’cn hear ya, n’lissen, n’do whad ya wan...waid...uh...Dogs c’n do thad…'' Dakota complained as he climbed into the limo. He was immediately distracted by the saltwater fish tank that stretched across the back window. “Ooh fish! I lofe fish!” He exclaimed, squishing his face against the glass. 

“You just look at the pretty fishies, and try not to cause trouble.” Cavendish told him as he closed the door. He and Savannah climbed in the front and she started the car. 

“Okay, where do we find the kid?” She asked. Cavendish felt his heart race. He felt like half his brain was missing without Dakota, but with Savannah there to fill in he felt like he was whole again, except part of that wholeness was very alien. 

“We left off downtown, we were at Sixth and Broad when Dakota got sick. We may not be able to follow that trail anymore though, it's been a while.” He informed her as they buckled up, “I have all the locations written down,” He pulled out his little notebook and consulted it. “he was headed west as we tracked him, nevertheless, once we find the trail it should be easy enough to follow!” 

“Alright then.” 

…………..

With all the detours and traffic backup, navigating turned out to be quite the task. It seemed their target really was having a very productive day in terms of mayhem and chaos. 

“It’s him!” Cavendish cried as they turned down their third detour, “Don’t get too close, we don’t want anything to go wrong before we’ve even started.” he warned. Savannah pulled over and they watched Milo, he appeared to be waiting for something, or someone. “So...um...how exactly are we going to do this?” Cavendish asked. The seriousness of what they were about to do was weighing ever more heavily on him, they were really going to _kidnap_ someone, a child to boot. 

“We can probably just knock him out and grab him. We need somewhere to go once we have him though.” 

“Wait, knock him out? We’re not going to...hurt him are we?” Cavendish asked, concern obvious as he looked out at the boy who was rubbing his neck and looking remorsefully at a broken bench.

Savannah rolled her eyes, “Gas, it’s harmless, a quick puff will just make him woozy while we grab him.” She showed him the little canister that could easily be mistaken for a perfume bottle.

Cavendish visibly relaxed, “I think I know a place we can go, there's a warehouse on B Street South, it’s well away from anything, it’s rather dilapidated so I doubt it’s in use.” 

Savanna punched in the location, “You’re not going to-” Cavendish started.

“Relax, it’s just the GPS. I’m not going to try anything with Dakota and the suspect in the car. I’ll drive, you snatch.” She handed him the vial, “Only spray it for like, a fraction of a second.” Cavendish nodded and Savannah rolled down the divider, he crawled unceremoniously into the back. “Close the privacy screening, he’ll still be able to see out, but probably not enough to tell where we’re going.”

“Wait...what _exactly_ am I doing?” He asked in the middle of pulling down a curtain. His nerves were starting to get the better of him.

“Im gonna stop, you jump out the back, grab him, spray him, toss him in, put these on him,” She held up what looked like zip ties made of flexible metal, “then jump in the front.” she explained briefly, looking a little annoyed. 

Cavendish thought it over as carefully as he could, there were a lot of things that could easily go wrong in this situation. He did trust Savannah to know what she was doing but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t overlook something, especially if she wasn’t aware of it to begin with. “We have to get rid of his backpack, he carries all kinds of potential weapons in there, should we take it as evidence? I don’t think we should leave it behind.” 

“Okay, whatever, just grab it off him while he’s out, and check for a cell phone too. Now are you ready?” 

He had made enough of a noise and their conversation was enough that it woke Dakota, who appeared to have been dozing. He sat up and looked around in a daze, squinting at Cavendish and rubbing his forehead. “Cav? Wher’re we? Whash goin’ on?” He grimaced and covered his right eye.

“Put your sunglasses back on,” Cavendish told him, the limo wasn’t very bright inside, especially with Cavendish closing the curtains, but it seemed to be enough to bother him still. “we’re about to do the snatch, do not get in the way. Don’t talk to him, don’t interact with him at all.” 

“Ready?” Savanna barked.

Cavendish did not feel ready in the least. He drew a deep breath, set his brow and replied, “Ready!” 

Savannah punched the gas and Dakota yelped in surprise. “I’m gonna go pull a U-ey, hang on tight.” They drove by Milo and down to the next street, where Savanna caused several other drivers to aggressively honk their horns at her. She muttered something rude at them in return. Dakota went sliding down the seat and braced himself clumsily to stop from being thrown off it completely. 

“Here we go! This is it! _NOW!”_

They came to a sudden stop right in front of Milo. The boy looked startled by the limo and only looked more surprised when the door flew open and Cavendish jumped out. “Hey I kno-ohh…” He didn't have time to finish his sentence as he was hit with the spray. 

Cavendish was trying not to panic as Milo collapsed in his arms. He scooped up the boy and jumped back into the back, yelling “Go! Go! Go!” Savannah didn’t hesitate and slammed the gas. Cavendish grabbed Milo’s backpack and tossed it to the front before quickly checking his pockets for a cell phone. He couldn't find one, but that didn’t mean there wasn't one. 

Milo was already starting to stir, Cavendish quickly ziptied his arms and legs, or at least, he tried to be quick but he was shaking quite badly and fumbling quite a bit. As soon as Milo was restrained he scrambled back up to the front seat. 

“Waid...yer leabin me ’lone with ’im?” Dakota asked, watching Milo wake up. 

“You’ll be fine. Bang on the partition if something goes wrong, the back is totally soundproof.” Savannah told him with a little wave before rolling up the screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this reads a bit odd as it's actually got a good chunk of what was originally chapter 4 attached because I didn't like how short 3 is. Chapter 3 originally ended when Savannah revealed Brick's disappearance.
> 
> Art is mine :)


	4. The Counteragent

“Well shid.” Dakota grumbled to himself. 

“Wha...What was that?” Milo said groggily as he regained consciousness. He tried to sit up and quickly realized he was tied up. “Huh...guess I’ve been kidnapped again.” 

Dakota stared at him, surprised. “Th’s’s habbened to ya b’fore?” 

Milo was startled as he looked over to where the voice came from. “Oh hey, it's you! Wait a second...the guy who grabbed me, you guys sell pistachios!” 

Dakota snorted at that. “Yub.” 

Milo’s face scrunched and he raised an eyebrow. “Pardon me for asking but...are you drunk?” Milo asked as he sat himself up and climbed up onto the bench across from Dakota.

Dakota let out a hollow bark of laughter at the kid’s politeness. “Naw, ’m nod drunk, I been drugged, been a real fun dime, godda tell ya.” Even as high as he still was, he wasn't completely oblivious and it was easy enough to tell that Milo was utterly shocked by the statement. 

“Were you kidnapped too? Did the suit guy drug you? Aren't you guys friends?” Milo blurted in quick succession. 

Dakota made up his mind then and there that Milo had nothing to do with the whole thing. “Naw, ’m nod kidnapped, jus you. Wasn’d Cav…” He hesitated on the last one. “We’reer nod frens ’xac’ly, wee’reer...err...pardners.” 

Milo raised an eyebrow at that last one. They both yelped as the limo made a particularly hard turn. “So uh...if it's not too much to ask -if you know- why was I kidnapped?” 

Dakota rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh, “They thing yer a counderagend worgin’ againsd dime dravellers. An andi-” the word caught in his throat, he tried again. “An andi-di-ah!” He lurched forward as pain seared through his right eye and across the right side of his head, making him whimper. He sat with his head tucked between his knees, heaving and gasping for air. 

Milo was terrified, unaware of the soundproofing, he began to scream for help. After a few minutes without any reaction from the front, he realized they couldn't hear him. His wrists were already aching and he was sure trying to break free was futile, he was starting to really become frightened now. 

“H-hey...mister...Mr Pistachio-guy are you okay? Y-you’re really scaring me and I c-can’t do anything to help!” His eyes were starting to prickle and his heart was racing. 

Dakota groaned, Milo wasn't sure if it was coincidence, or if he was responding to him. 

………

Cavendish opened the door to find a semiconscious Dakota and a completely panicked Milo. Once again his emotions cycled faster than he could process them. “Savannah, deal with the  _ boy  _ I’ll see to Dakota.” 

He really hadn’t needed to say so, she was already pulling him out of the limo. He was crying and mumbling, tears streaming down his face. “Look kid, we’re not going to hurt you, but we need answers…” He left her to it as he turned his attention to Dakota. 

Dakota was doubled over, gasping for air and sobbing. His glasses were on the ground. Cavendish tucked them into one of his tailcoat pockets for safekeeping. 

“Dakota, Dakota, it’s me, Cavendish.” He whispered, kneeling in front of him. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I should have made Savannah leave the divider open. I shouldn’t have left you alone with that…” His voice turned seething, “With that boy…”

C-Cav…?” 

“Dakota, yes, it’s alright we-” 

“Touch me...please?” 

Cavendish was upon him like a man possessed. His fingers caressing along his partners sides and back, under his jacket under his shirt. Dakota shivered at the feeling, and it wasn't long before he was letting out a dizzying cacophony of pleasured sounds. Cavendish had cursed the soundproofing moments ago, but now he was extremely grateful for it. 

He gently pushed Dakota down onto the bench. Dakota flopped readily, hands tucked up around his face, legs falling open. He looked like a dog waiting for a belly rub. Cavendish had not yet indulged his partner (or himself) with such contact, and did not hesitate to do so now. Dakota’s moans were deep and drawn, clearly his belly was a particularly sensitive part of him. “Try not to wriggle too much, you’ll fall off the bench.” Cavendish warned, but Dakota took no heed. 

Dakota’s belly button was a little sunken, and as Cavendish teased around it he found he couldn't resist; He slid a finger down inside it until he met the soft, bumpy flesh, rubbed at it, then slid back up. Dakota’s reaction was intense, so Cavendish continued with a bit more speed. He tensed and gasped, moaning, “Caaavvvv oh my goood I didn’d thing you were gonna...aah!” 

Dakota tensed and shuddered, gasped and moaned and grabbed at his hair as Cavendish continued to up the intensity of his fingering. “God, Cav, fug me harder!” 

Cavendish suddenly felt as if he’d had a bucket of ice water dumped on him. “Good Lord! Dakota I...I wasn’t…” As cold as he suddenly felt, his face was burning hotter and hotter at the thought that Dakota had perceived what he was doing as  _ sex.  _ He was becoming overwhelmed by moral panic, the voices from last time were suddenly screaming at him once again, but now they were so much louder and it seemed there were more of them. 

Dakota gave himself a shake to try to knock away the dozy feeling as he noticed his partner rapidly losing to anxiety. “Cav! Hey, Cav, id’s fine. Wha’s done’s done. We godda figure oud whad’s goin’ on.” The doziness was strong, he was already fighting it as hard as he could.

Cavendish blinked at Dakota's words. If the last realization hit him like ice water, this one hit like a ton of bricks. “What’s going on, you’re right!” He took a few deep breaths. “Dakota, what...what happened back here, why were you so upset? Did Milo...did he do something? Say something?” 

Dakota’s face scrunched up, he was thinking about it so hard his eyes went a little crossed. “I...I don’ thing i’was him. I can’d really ‘member, bu’ I jus hafe a feelin’. Go with yer gud, yanno?” He was swaying and his eyelids were drooping.

“Yes. Alright. I’m going to check on them. Stay here.” 

“Sure, I don’d thing I c’n mofe anyway righ’ now.” Dakota replied, rolling over and tucking his hands under his head.

…….

Cavendish was greeted with pained cries as he shut the door, echoing all around the abandoned warehouse. “Savannah? Where are you?” He tried to keep his voice level and not give away the anger that had immediately bubbled up when he heard Milo’s cries. Savannah waved her flashlight so he could find them, and he took off at a sprint. 

As they came into view Cavendish only barely had time to take in what he was seeing; Milo on the ground, curled up and cowering, Savannah, standing over him, the sound of electrical arcing emanating from a device in her hand. Cavendish didn’t stop to consider that he may get shocked, he barely even hesitated in his sprint. 

With a furious yell he tackled her. 

There was a sickening  _ crunch  _ and a shriek of pain. 

Cavendish didn't care as he pinned the woman for the second time. “What in bloody blazes has gotten  _ into  _ you?! You said you wouldn’t hurt him! He is a  _ child  _ Savannah!” 

“I said I wouldn’t hurt him  _ if he co-operated!”  _ She spat. “He wasn’t giving up any useful intel, so I had to-AARGH!” She screamed as Cavendish grabbed her broken arm. “Why the fuck did you do that!?” 

“Payback.” He stood, letting her up. 

“You piece of shit when this is over I’m gonna-” She growled at him, getting up into his personal space.

He met her glare, if he was honest with himself it was the same glare that even at the start of this very day would have severely intimidated him. Now though, now it just made him feel mildly irritated, he had already tackled her twice, and broken her arm, he was feeling rather self confident and fully able to hold his own against her. 

“Listen here, Savannah, and listen  _ well.  _ It wasn’t my choice to call you in here, it was necessity. I’m tired of you treating me like I’m less than capable, I’ve proven myself more than enough since this whole debacle started and I expect you to do the same!" His voice remained steady but he paced a little as he scolded her. By now Milo had stopped crying and had his eyes glued to the two agents, watching the scene with awe. "This is bigger than the both of us, for all we know the timeline as we know it has already been permanently fucked.” His expression softened and his voice quieted, “We’re all that’s left, we have to  _ trust  _ each other. We have to be in this together, we won’t make it through this otherwise.” 

Cavendish walked over to Milo and knelt down beside him, “Milo, I’m sorry it went like this,” he whispered very softly, remorse evident. “you weren’t supposed to be hurt.” He pressed the release and freed Milo’s hands and then his legs. 

Milo rubbed at his bruised wrists, some places even had blood seeping. “It’s okay, I’m used to getting hurt, I’ve had worse.” He shrugged. 

Cavendish wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Milo, when you were in the back with Dakota…” Cavendish faltered, not wanting to make Milo feel at fault. “Can you tell me what happened right before he…” He trailed off again, not sure what to call Dakota’s episode. 

“Before he freaked out?” Milo supplied. 

“Yes.” Cavendish replied simply. 

“Well he was saying something about a counteragent, and time travel…” He paused to think, “But right before he, you know, he said something, or he tried to...sorry, I’m trying to remember but he was kinda slurring a bit...andi? Andi-di! That's what he said...but I think he was trying to say anti! Like anti-time travel!”

Cavendish’s eyes went wide.  _ Anti-time travel?  _ Why would that set Dakota off? Did Dakota know something more than he was letting on? “That’s incredibly useful information young man.” He said in a serious tone as he stood and offered Milo a hand up. He took it and they began to walk back to the limo. “Come on Savannah.” He called impatiently. 

“We’ve got a serious problem.” She was trying hard to mask the considerable pain she was in, but wasn't fully able to hide it, she was cradling her broken arm over her good one, in which she held her communicator.

“We’ll deal with that in the-” 

“I don’t mean my arm, I mean the future...there's no signal. No signal at all.”

……….

“Try not to make too much noise getting into the limo. Dakota is asleep.” Cavendish told them as he opened the door. “Where is the medkit Savannah?” He asked, already checking the various compartments. 

“That one, next one down.” She said with a groan as she sat. 

Milo sat beside her and eyed her cuff. “Hey you oughta take that off before it cuts off your circulation.” He pointed out, her arm was already quite swollen. 

“Good idea.” She pressed one of the buttons and it sprang open, falling onto her lap. 

“Here we go.” Cavendish said as he pulled out the box, he sat across from Milo and Savannah and searched through it. “Oh no, there's no splint roll in here!” 

“I’ve got something you can-” He cut himself off, “Where’s my backpack?!” With the excitement and stress of the situation, he hadn’t even thought about it being missing. 

“It’s all right, it's just up front, safe and sound.” Cavendish informed him. 

“Oh good! That’s a relief, especially because I have some rulers in here that'll be a perfect splint!” He said cheerfully as he grabbed it from the front and awkwardly hauled it back. “I’ve got first aide training, I can wrap up your arm for you!” Milo offered, already kneeling in front of her and pulling his own medical supplies from his backpack. He made short work of splinting it, but he was nonetheless careful. Once he finished he dug around for a sling. “I’m sure it’s in here somewhere…” he mumbled to himself. 

“Hey, kid,” Savannah began, “I’m sorry for all that, it really wasn’t right. I should have seen sooner that you were telling the truth, and I never should have hurt you. Even after everything I did you’re helping me, you’re a good kid.” 

“Mistakes happen,” Milo said with a shrug and a smile before continuing to look in his bag. “What’s going on seems pretty serious and I guess I can't blame you for thinking Murphy's law seemed suspicious, it is pretty weird after all!” He was almost ready to give up when he finally found it. “Oh hey it was in the front pocket, I always forget to check that one.” 

“ _ Pain _ ,” Cavendish grumbled, looking over all the patches in Brick and Savannah’s kit, “how come there weren’t any of those in our kit?” 

Savannah snorted and nodded her head at the sleeping Dakota but didn't say anything.

Cavendish heaved a deep sigh, feeling suddenly quite drained, he wanted to argue, but he knew she was right. He noticed more  _ detox  _ patches in their kit as well, there had only been one left in theirs. He held the  _ pain  _ patch out to Milo, “Put this on her upper arm, on the broken one. He went over to Dakota and carefully placed another  _ detox  _ patch on him, he couldn't help pausing for a moment to listen to his partners soft, regular breaths, the sound steadied him, he  _ would  _ get them through this! 

“Milo, when you’re done with that, there’s an ointment you can use to heal your bruises in the medkit.” Cavendish sat down at the end of the bench with Dakota. “Alright,” He began, trying not to let the exhaustion enter his voice, “Milo explained to me that before Dakota had his... _ episode _ he said something rather specific.”

“Yeah!” Milo piped from the limo floor, watching his volume so as not to disturb the sleeping man. “He said “Anti-ti” but I think he was trying to say, “anti-time travel” or at least, that’s what it seemed like!” Milo said enthusiastically as he rubbed the ointment on his wrists. 

“Does that sound familiar to you at all?” Cavendish asked Savannah, “Maybe something classified? I can’t say it's something I’ve heard of but I’m only third class.” 

“No, it doesn’t, but it could be above even my level, then again, he’s been drugged, it might just be something completely random.” She looked at Dakota skeptically.

Cavendish shook his head, “The way he reacted...it had to mean  _ something.”  _

“Well, there’s only one thing to do, I’ll have to go to the future and crack into the BoTTs ultra secure section.” 

Cavendish looked shocked, “Have you any idea how  _ dangerous  _ that is woman? And alone? With a broken right arm!?” Cavendish’s voice rose so loud that Dakota stirred and grumbled. 

Savannah shrugged. “I can handle it, I’m not a first class agent for no reason you know. That entails a very high degree of espionage, I was a full time spy before I got involved with time travel.” 

Cavendish just stared at her. He had no idea what to say to that. “I was a lawyer...er for the queen.” 

She snorted, “Honestly? That explains a few things.” Cavendish really had no idea what she meant by that. “Alright, so, I’ll leave you and oompa-loompa here, take the kid back then go see what I can find out about this “Anti-time traveller” business. 

Milo piped up again, “When you say  _ back _ you mean like  _ back in time!?  _ I get to TIME TRAVEL!? _ ”  _ Milo asked excitedly, yelling loud enough to startle Dakota. “Oh...um...oops…”

“Yeah, a little, just back to where we picked you up, no one will even know you were gone.” Savannah couldn’t help smiling a little, this kid was really something all right.

Once again Cavendish tried to go over everything in his head, was there anything missing? “Savannah!” He yelped, startling everyone in the limo, “The communicators are no longer working, we should exchange numbers for our current era phones!” 

“Huh, Cavendish, I have to admit, I’m impressed, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” She said, looking at him with an expression that made it clear she meant it honestly. 

“Well, I’m just trying to do my best to think things through. He...He’s depending on me.” 

“Awee, Cav, tha’s so sweed, yer doin’ good.” Dakota said groggily as he sat up. Now, le’sh es’shange those numbers ‘n ged goin!” 

Cavendish felt his cheeks heat up but ignored it. It was a quick exchange and Savannah had both Cavendish’s and Dakota’s numbers and they both had hers. They said their goodbyes to Milo and Cavendish gave Dakota back his sunglasses. 

A zap and a flash of light later, the limo was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life.


	5. Warehouse of Horrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where things get interesting. Art by me!

Cavendish and Dakota waited at the warehouse.   


They waited and waited and  _ waited.  _

Or at least, that was how it  _ felt.  _ It wasn’t often that time travellers actually bothered with waiting, and so they simply weren’t too used to it. 

It didn’t help that they were both well aware that if everything had gone well, Savannah would have been gone a few seconds at most. The reality weighed very heavily on both of them. 

“Hey Cav…” Dakota asked very quietly, the sound of his voice still seeming much too loud in the eerie silence of the warehouse. “Would you...hol’ my hand?” 

Cavendish was surprised by the request but whispered back, “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea...you collapsed the last time.” 

“Please?” The word was a rumble, almost a purr. 

Cavendish drew a breath and rolled his eyes, but his fingers started to tickle their way down to interlace with those of his partner. 

Dakota drew a sharp breath and whimpered a little, he briefly lost his balance then caught himself. He let out a soft chuckle, “’M okay, I god this.” 

They stood there, right where Savannah had left them, for another ten minutes before Cavendish started to get really fidgety and Dakota started swaying on his feet. 

“Gah! What is taking so long!” Cavendish burst, startling Dakota, Cavendish had quite suddenly tightened his grip which only made the outburst more intense. 

Dakota yelped. 

“Oh my, I'm sorry Dakota! Are you alright?” Cavendish asked, realizing what he had done.

“Yuuuppp.” Dakota replied simply. 

“Maybe we should try to find somewhere to sit down? I do hope Savannah is alright.” Cavendish rambled as he started walking, looking for someplace they could sit that wasn’t too grimy. He hated to admit that his anxiety was really starting to creep up on him again, it might not have been so bad if not for the location. 

His anxiety was causing him to have sound hypersensitivity and he was extremely aware of every pitter patter of a rat and drip in the pipes, he could even hear the electricity buzzing in the lights. 

“Cav,” Dakota mumbled, “Y’okay? Yer sweadin’, feels funny.” 

Cavendish bit his lip, he hated to admit it, but there was no use in lying. “This place has me quite unnerved, and I’m worried about Savannah, she should have been back by now.”

“’M sure she’s fine.” Dakota didn’t sound completely convinced himself.

Suddenly there was a noise loud enough to make them both freeze. With a click and a buzz the lights went out. 

Cavendish had an iron grip on Dakota’s hand now. Dakota responded by hugging him. “’S okay, ’m righd here,” He rumbled calmly, though his breathing was heavy. “Leggo my hand n’ pud on yer gogs, I don’ haf mine w'me.” Cavendish did as he was told. 

With his night vision goggles on he could see a clear greyscale world. He caught sight of something very large, a burning ball of white in a sea of grey, for only a moment before it darted behind a stack of crates. “There’s someone in here, we need to get out of here!” He hissed at Dakota, who was still clinging to him. 

Dakota could practically feel Cavendish losing. His heartbeat speeding, his breathing growing erratic, the sweat of his brow. “Cav.” He said his partner’s name with as much force and clarity as he could manage. “Ya godda calm down, jus’ breathe. We godda go back the way we came.” 

Cavendish was rather disconcerted by the idea that his intoxicated partner was making more sense of the situation than he was, but he didn't dwell on it. Dakota was easing off him as they began making their way back towards where Savannah had left them. 

It was slow going, every minute sound and every slight shadow had him jumping, ready to dart behind the nearest pile of crates or pallets. Then he saw it, the open garage door. He had to hold himself back from absolutely sprinting for it, it wouldn't be fair to Dakota to drag him behind like that. 

The area that separated them from the door was cleared out, there was nothing to use as cover from whoever or  _ what _ ever he had seen earlier. They stopped at the pile closest to the door, there was still a good hundred feet or so to get to it. 

“Dakota…” Cavendish whispered close to his ear, the heat of his breath and the tickle of it made him squirm a little, “Do you think you can run?” 

Dakota eyed the door, took a few steps in place, shifted his weight around then eyed the door again. “I c’n dry.” He hoped he sounded determined, but the truth was he wasn’t at all sure he could. Dakota shivered when Cavendish took his hand, “Okay,” He rumbled, “led’s run.” 

They both took some deep breaths, steadied themselves then Cavendish whispered “Now!”

Their run was as Cavendish feared, which was, Dakota couldn’t run but was still trying. 

When they were halfway there, the unthinkable happened.

Cavendish fell. 

Dakota went down with him. “Cavendish!” He yelped as his partner struggled to get back to his feet. 

“S-something is wrong…” Cavendish whispered in horror, “I-I can’t feel my foot…” 

“Whad?!” Dakota replied, equally horrified, trying to help Cavendish up but feeling too weak and unsteady to actually help him. 

Both their attention snapped to the door when an eerie groan of metal quickly gave way to a thunderous  _ SLAM!  _

“Shid-shid-shid-shid-shid-shid…” Dakota was back down on the ground now. 

Cavendish whimpered. Dakota could feel him trembling. It took Dakota a moment to remember that with the goggles Cavendish could see heat signatures. 

“Caaavvv…Cav...whaddya see?” 

No reply. 

_ “M-i-s-s-i-s-s…” _

At first they almost didn’t hear it. 

_ “M-i-s-s...M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i…”  _

It grew louder, echoing through the warehouse in a sinister hiss, the voice seeming to multiply into hundreds.

_ “M-i-s-s...M-i-s-s-i-s-s...m-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-pi…” _

It sounded as if it was everywhere at once, letters being hissed and whispered but somehow amassing into an overwhelming cacophony.

_ “I-p-p-i...m-i-s-s…i-p-p-i…” _

Repeating wildly in a fevered singsong madness. Cavendish was so horror struck that it took him some time to realize that Dakota was shaking worse than he was. 

Cavendish didn’t know what to do, he stared at the massive white figures darting all around them. The devilish song echoing was only getting even more intense. 

“I-I’m so, so sorry Dakota...I’m s-sor-ry…” He clung onto his partner and Dakota clung onto him. 

Cavendish suddenly became aware that Dakota was flat out  _ bawling.  _ He could hear him muttering, “No-no-no-no...can’d be...can’d, no-no-no…” 

_ BANG! _

They screamed. 

_ THUMP! THUMP! _

The singing was gone. 

_ THUMP! SLAM!  _

Someone was yelling, coming towards them. He curled up with Dakota as someone stood over them. 

It took him entirely too long to process the angry voice. 

“...why the fuck was the door closed!? Why are the lights out!? Your phones didn’t work! I called you guys like twenty times!” Savannah growled at them before yelling menacingly into the darkness, “Come out fucker, I know you’re in here!”   


_ BANG! _

Cavendish could see Savannah's outline standing almost right over top of them, blazing white like a guardian angel. Her right arm was tucked against her, but her left was held out and away, ending in the clear outline of a smoking gun. 

“No...nononono...we godda run...run!” Dakota’s scream was deafening right in Cavendish’s already ringing ear. “RUN!” Then Dakota was scrambling, a second later Cavendish was the one being practically dragged. 

“The limo is in the yard!” Savannah barked as they ran towards the small side door she had kicked in beside the main warehouse garage doors. There was a  _ boop-boop  _ and the lights flashed, the warehouse yard was still lit and it was clear the limo looked worse for wear, it was dented all over and the front crumpled.

They all piled into the back and Savannah locked the doors with her fob. 

After a few minutes of them all just breathing, Cavendish managed to ask, quite harshly “Why aren’t you getting us out of here!?” 

“Because I  _ can’t  _ or else I would be!” She snapped back. 

“What do you mean you  _ can't!?”  _

“I mean I can’t because we have a  _ problem _ .” 

Cavendish was honestly getting  _ very _ tired of those words. 

“Yes I think we’re all well aware of that by now Savannah!” He snapped as he pulled Dakota to him, cradling him closer and tighter than the last time, they were on the floor of the limo and he couldn’t be bothered to try to pull them up onto the bench, especially not with Dakota as he was.

Dakota was sobbing and mumbling, “We’re in danger....run, run, we have to run! No!  _ No!”  _

Cavendish tried to soothe him, “Dakota, it's alright, we’re safe now…” But no matter what he did he couldn’t snap him out of it. Touches made him squirm and whimper, but they didn't take him out of it like the last time. 

He looked helplessly at Savannah. “Cavendish…” She said quietly with a sigh, his eyes widened at her tone, she sounded heartbroken. “It was gone...all of it...the BoTT...well, it was  _ there _ but it wasn’t  _ our  _ BoTT, all the files, all the agents, Mr Block, they were gone...everything else was there in a way, but it also just...wasn't.” Her face scrunched as she tried to explain. “I tried to get back, but something happened...Look.” She pointed at the console of the limo, Cavendish stretched up to peek between the front seats. 

There were the vents and heating controls, there was the radio and GPS, there was a cup holder, there was a little tray for nick-nacks. There was nothing else. 

The entire time module was  _ gone. _

“Time travel doesn’t exist in this timeline anymore.” She said flatly. “I was lucky I escaped the timestream at all, nevermind in such a near time and place.” 

Cavendish had to take a moment to breathe and process before speaking.

“And thank heavens we had at least that stroke of luck. Dakota…” He choked a little and Dakota whimpered as Cavendish squeezed him. “Dakota and I might not have made it out of there if you hadn’t shown up just then.” 

“Yeah, what the hell was-” She started before abruptly cutting herself off, “Holy shit Cavendish! Your leg!” 

“What?” he asked in surprise before looking down and noticing a rather large dart sticking out of the side of his right calf. “Oh…” He remarked, bemused, “I suppose that solves why my foot went numb and why I tripped.” 

“For fuck’s sake it could be poison or something, you dumbass! Get rid of it!” Savannah yelled. 

Cavendish pulled his leg up, maneuvering awkwardly with Dakota against him. He wrapped his hand around it and tugged quite hard. 

It stayed stuck.   


It didn't hurt, it didn't even seem to be bleeding, but it was very firmly, very certainly  _ stuck.  _

“It must be barbed.” Cavendish said simply. 

Savannah sighed deeply and rubbed her temple with her good hand. 

“We need help. We can’t keep going like this. Dakota is...clearly suffering some kind of trauma reaction to whatever happened, you might be poisoned by a dart that is barbed or something, and I’ve got a busted arm…” She muttered something about that that Cavendish didn't catch, no doubt accusatory.

“But who?” Cavendish asked, cursing himself for not being more aware of their current era’s partner organizations. 

“Well...there’s P.I.G and O.W.CA. Either of them could help, but we’re probably best to try P.I.G first...it’s run by Block’s ancestor.” 

While Savannah made the call Cavendish simply held his partner. He contemplated the dart, as he thought about it it became quite clear that he had most likely been hit with the drug. 

Hit, but not overdosed. 

It was probably why he felt strangely calm and remarkably clear headed. He wondered why he would be hit with a drug meant to be triggered by an occurrence that no longer existed. What was the point, if it wasn’t going to kill him on it’s own? There had been plenty of opportunity to kill him, that was for certain. 

His thoughts turned to his partner. He tried to think of what he knew for stopping flashbacks. Grounding was the big one, bring the senses into the moment to pull the mind back into the moment. He was already using sound and touch, sight would require Dakota to open his eyes, that was no good. That left…

_ Smell! And Taste! Of course! _ Cavendish thought,  _ That would likely work quite well for Dakota, especially considering he must be starving by now!  _ (Cavendish certainly was) He wondered if there was a chance of there being any food in the limo. 

He waved a hand frantically at Savannah to get her attention. She met him with an irritated raising of her eyebrows and a distinct bobbing of her head that clearly meant  _ what?  _

“Do you have any food in here?” He whispered. 

“Just one moment sir, one of my...cohorts needs something.” She muted her call and stared at him “Food? Really? Now?”

“It’s not for  _ me!”  _ Cavendish retorted, “It’s to try to ground Dakota!” 

Her face softened and she stood, looking in the little overhead compartments. “Brick... Brick used to stash snacks sometimes...here! Lucky, there’s one pack of brownies." She tossed the brownies his way then quickly got back to her call. 

Cavendish opened the brownies and held the package under Dakota’s nose. His reaction was instant, he started smelling, sniffing at the brownies, inhaling deeply as well as quick, curious sniffing, like a dog tracking a scent. 

“Doesn’t it smell delicious?” Cavendish whispered, “Open your eyes Dakota, they’re here, they’re waiting for you.” 

Cavendish broke off a tiny piece, small enough to not risk choking, and slipped it into Dakota’s mouth. His reaction was immediate and dramatic. 

His eyes popped open and he moaned, smacking his mouth and chomping, making sounds like a child having their first taste of candy. “Caaaavvv…?” He moaned softly. 

“Yes, I’m here.” Cavendish whispered. 

“Wuzzare brownies? ’R did I hallucinade thad jus’ now?” Cavendish couldn’t help but chuckle with relief and hug him tightly, which made him let out a rumbling moan. “Fuuug...Cav, when’d you become the cuddlebug b’dween us?” 

Cavendish’s face scrunched at the question, Dakota was probably just joking, but he was  _ right.  _ His mind raced through a realization of just how dramatically the contact between them had escalated, and he hadn’t even noticed! But then, things had really gotten wild, it was a situation none of them could have prepared for. 

Cavendish felt a pressure building up inside him, it felt similar to when he screamed to vent frustration, but this time was different, it was more bubbly, more giddy, more...relief? It grew until he couldn't hold it anymore, and then, he burst. He laughed, loud and wild, like a madman, until tears started pouring down his cheeks. Luckily Savannah was done with her call and didn’t shush him, though she did roll her eyes and look superbly irritated by it.   


“Woah, Cav…’re you okay?” Dakota asked, after his own laughter (for he had been unable to resist joining in) died down. 

Cavendish sighed and smiled, “Yes, I’m quite alright, I think. What about you? Are you okay? How are you feeling now?”

“’M okay, feel kinda like ’m floatin’ though. But hey, wazzare brownies? Cause I thoughd there was brownies!?” 

Cavendish snorted and handed him the little package. “I’m sorry, that's all there is.” Dakota didn't seem to hear him, he had already taken a big bite of the brownie and appeared to be just as pleasured by taste as he was by touch. 

_ Oh bollox! How didn’t I think of that!?  _

Dakota was chewing furiously, making wild noises and wiggling as enthusiastically as he had with touch. Cavendish could only imagine how intense it must be. “Be careful Dakota, don’t choke!” 

“Caaavvv, this’s the besd thing I’f efer dasded…” Dakota moaned, followed by a lot of “mmmmm” and more smacking and chomping. 

Savannah made a disgusted sound. “Dakota can you just  _ try  _ to keep that to yourself even a little bit? I’ve heard more than enough of what your sex life sounds like.”   


“Well  _ now  _ who’s being prudish?” Cavendish sassed, Dakota actually giggled at that. 

It was barely a minute before the brownies were gone and Dakota cuddled up even tighter against his partner. “Hey Cav?” The whisper was very sweet and quiet. 

“Yes Dakota?” Cavendish replied softly.

“Thangs...for efrythin’ ’m so happy t’be ‘n yer arms.” He pressed his face against Cavendish’s chest and it muffled his already very quiet, very slurred ramble, “Yer so good, I jus wanna sday here ferefer,  _ I lofe you so much…”  _

Cavendish’s entire body went tense, his chest felt tight. 

Had he really just heard? Had Dakota really? 

He wasn’t about to ask him, he had fallen asleep anyway, and like everything else Dakota had said, it was probably just the drug talking.

Savannah was glaring at him. He could feel her gaze boring into him. 

“What do you want?” He asked rather bitterly. 

“Hey, relax, I might not like you guys very much, but it’s like you said, we’re all we’ve got, and we’re in this together.” She paused and looked at Dakota, “What… what happened in there?” 

“It’s honestly mostly a blur, since all I could see was greyscale. I was terrified, but Dakota really suffered. He was doing well and actually really helping me keep calm...until the singing started.” 

“Wait what? What singing? Like Dakota was singing?” Savanna asked, clearly confused.

‘Oh I  _ wish  _ it had been Dakota singing, no, it was most certainly the culprit of the entire affair! Unfortunately, I have no idea what he looked like, I only know he is...he is very large and...there’s more than one of him.” 

“More than one? You’re sure?” She asked incredulously. 

“Absolutely.” 

“And it was the  _ singing  _ that set Dakota off? What were they singing?” 

Cavendish looked down at his partner nervously, afraid that mentioning it would set him off despite his sound sleep. “They were singing the Mississippi song...you know the one, where it spells it out?” He was too nervous to actually sing it.

Savannah’ brow furrowed, “What’s the significance of that to Dakota? What is his role in all of this? He’s involved somehow, we just have to figure out how.” 


	6. Downtime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait.

The P.I.G agents arrived shortly after their talk. They actually had been in the area for some time before making themselves known, but they had to make sure it was clear before retrieving them. The transfer to the P.I.G S.U.V was fairly quick, the most difficult part was getting Dakota in without waking him, he did stir and mumble, but he never fully woke up.

The drive to the facility was quiet and tense. Cavendish had no idea what to expect and the agents weren’t giving them any information. 

Cavendish felt himself dozing as they drove. He was feeling quite sick from hunger and a bit lightheaded.  _ Hopefully there will be food there,  _ He thought to himself, Dakota as well needed more than a couple of little brownies.

When they arrived it was actually a very quiet affair, armed agents ushered them inside where they received guest IDs. Dakota was still very sleepy and didn’t bother waking up properly, that was, until they met Bob Block. 

The Head of P.I.G met them enthusiastically, he was the first and only person they'd yet met with a relaxed demeanor and a casual air. “Agents, at ease! We’re secure.” The way he said it was almost joyful, and all the agents in their immediate vicinity started removing their sunglasses, relaxed their postures and began to disperse. Any that still had weapons at the ready put them away. 

“So,” Bob addressed the trio, “time agents, that’s fascinating, we’ve never had interactions with time travellers before, or maybe we have and I just don’t know it.” His eyes skimmed over them and his eyebrows went up, no doubt they were quite a sight. Cavendish, with a dart in his leg, Savannah, with her broken arm, and most obviously, Dakota, swaying on his feet looking like some kind of zombie. It likely didn’t help that all three of them were rather dishevelled and to top it all off, Dakota had absolutely refused to let go of Cavendish’s hand. 

Cavendish watched Bob Block skeptically. There was something very odd about him, but his senses were off from the hunger and the effect of the drug. He just hoped the gut feeling he was having was that and nothing more. 

Savannah sighed and rubbed her forehead, “I’m afraid it’s very much the latter Sir. The current timeline has simply been severely altered at this point.” 

Block looked at her with a curious expression. “How interesting, I hope you’ll indulge my curiosity about that, but I’m forgetting to introduce myself! Bob Block, Head of P.I.G!” He recited as he beamed at the three of them. He held out his hand to Savannah. 

“Natalia Savannah, B.o.T.T agent, first class.” Savannah replied. Cavendish realized he had never known her first name. He wondered if it was her real name at all, especially given the level of espionage required by first class agents. 

Block was holding his hand out to him expectantly. “Oh, um,” It was an awkward moment as Cavendish’s right hand was occupied. He simply held out his left to accommodate. Block looked at their clasped hands and smiled at them, then switched his proffered hand. “Balthazar Cavendish, B.o.T.T agent, third class.” Cavendish blurted awkwardly and they exchanged a firm handshake. 

Block looked a bit concerned as he held his hand out to Dakota. Dakota looked at it and said nothing, but began to offer his own to shake. 

Savannah muttered a very quiet “Oh no.” 

Cavendish snapped into action.

“DON’T TOUCH HIM!” he barked loudly, stepping between Block and Dakota with a twist and spin so that he was facing his partner, their hands still held. 

At the sound of his yell several things happened in quick succession: Agents sprang into action, Block jumped back with a start, and Dakota finally woke up completely. 

He looked around, but all he could really see was Cavendish about as close to his face as their height difference would allow. His face scrunched up and he blinked in confusion. “Hey…” He rumbled, “Wha’s goin’ on? ’R we ’bou’da kiss?” 

“Oh my  _ god.”  _

The voice was Savanna’s. 

“Is everything alright here Sir?” Asked one of the agents, approaching quickly, gun drawn.

“I...think so?” Block replied, utterly confused, looking to Savannah in hopes of an explanation. She had just rolled her eyes and was about to answer when there was another yell. 

“Cav geddown!” Dakota cried. 

Cavendish had time for a startled “Wha-?” Before Dakota tackled him, his leg immediately gave out and they fell together. More agents were running their way, the sound of their guns being cocked and heavy footfalls rang through the hallways. 

“ _ Shit!  _ Block, call them off!” Savannah's voice was closer to panic than Cavendish had ever heard it. “Call them off!” She repeated desperately. 

Block, looking very confused but not altogether fazed, quickly did as asked. He put a finger to his ear and stated calmly, “All agents stand down, at ease. I repeat - all agents stand down, at ease.” 

The running stopped, guns were put away, postures relaxed.

“Dakota, you dumbass, they’re with us!” Savannah reprimanded. 

Cavendish sat up, which was impressive considering Dakota was plastered to his chest. He rubbed the back of his head with a soft hiss, he had bumped it quite hard when he fell. 

His attention quickly turned to his partner. Dakota was trembling like a leaf and breathing erratically. Cavendish hugged him tightly and he gasped, his tremble turning to a shudder, a soft moan escaping him. Cavendish began whispering to him, very quietly in his ear, hoping he would come out of it quickly. 

“That.” Savannah said with a heavy sigh, as she looked at the shocked expression on Bob Block’s face,“That is why we do not touch him.” 

“Noted.” He replied simply. 

Luckily Cavendish did manage to get Dakota to come around quickly, mostly by promising more brownies and assuring him that they were safe. Even so, it still took the better part of twenty minutes before they were both back on their feet. 

Dakota smiled ruefully at Block. “Sorry ’boud thad, I jus’ wasn’d expecdin’ t’wake up wi’guns. M’brain’s a l’il funny righ now.” 

“Oh that’s all right, we deal with aliens so we’re used to...odd interactions.” Block replied with a shrug and a forgiving smile. “I’m Bob Block, head of P.I.G, and you are?” Cavendish noted with some satisfaction that his hands remained tucked behind his back this time. 

“Finny Dakoda, ‘m a dime draveller.” He leaned close to Cavendish, their hands once again clasped, “We’re  _ pardners.” _

The way he said it made Cavendish blush. He was about to explain when Block replied with a chuckle, “I’d assumed as much. Now, how about we get your injuries and uh...brain function looked at?”

“That sounds great but honestly we’re all starving, is it possible for us to get some food first?” Savannah asked, sounding rather tired and a little frustrated. 

“Oh, well we do have a cafeteria, but I would recommend going to the med bay because they can give you replenishers that will provide exactly what you need.” 

…..

“When you examine him you  _ must  _ use gloves!” Cavendish insisted as Dakota was led away to a separate area. Their separation was quite sudden, Cavendish wasn't given any opportunity to explain the situation.

“Don’t worry Mr. Cavendish, we’re professionals, gloves are protocol.” A doctor assured him. Cavendish finally felt some anxiety beginning to return, his worries about Dakota had overpowered the effect of the drug. He had been so very hungry minutes ago, now he barely managed to nibble at the bar he was given to eat.

In the med bay Cavendish sat on a tall doctor’s table while a team of several medical professionals looked at his leg. 

“Please don’t wriggle it like that, I know I did say it doesn’t hurt, but it doesn't exactly feel like a good idea to move it around.” Cavendish told them, his distress evident. 

One of them took out a strange looking device and scanned his leg with it. “Oh boy. Yup, you’re right, definitely shouldn't be wiggling that thing around.” Cavendish couldn’t see much of his face due to a mask and goggles, but his tone was not reassuring in the least. 

The Doctor and his assistants walked across the room and conferred amongst themselves in hushed voices. Cavendish was quite worried by this, but he was still more concerned about Dakota. 

“And you say you can’t feel it?” The Doctor asked incredulously upon returning to his side. 

“Not at all, well, I am aware it’s there now so I can tell there’s  _ something,  _ but I didn’t feel it hit and there is no pain.” 

“That is extraordinary. We want to take you down to our more advanced scanner. We believe surgery may be the only way to remove it without permanent damage.” 

Cavendish was quite shocked at the news. 

“Excuse me…” Came a soft knocking at the door. “Is it alright if I have a quick word with Mr. Cavendish?” He was allowed to enter and quickly made his way to Cavendish. “Hello Sir, we were wondering if you could provide any further information about what your er...partner took? We're afraid we haven't been able to identify it, it wasn’t a match for anything we tested for, not even alien origin.” 

Cavendish was relieved to be able to explain, but it was short lived as he realized he didn’t have anything to offer in relation to what the substance actually  _ was.  _ “I’m sorry, I don't know much I’m afraid. All I know is that it’s a - wait a moment!” He reached into his jacket pocket, “Here, this ought to help, we are quite desperate to know what this substance is!” He held the pill bottle out to the young man. “It would be of great help if you could try to identify it!”

“Ooh! That is  _ extremely  _ helpful!” He replied excitedly, “Thank you!” He then practically ran out of the room.

Cavendish turned his attention back to the Doctor, “Right, you said something about surgery?” 

The scan involved a machine that looked similar to an MRI. They wouldn’t tell him much about it, saying simply that the technology was still “classified” for civilians. 

When the scan was finished he finally got to see what it was that had them so shocked. When he saw it it shook him enough that he was very concerned he might heave, though he hadn’t eaten, so there was nothing for him  _ to  _ heave.

The thing looked like a pine tree inside his leg. Hundreds of branches with tiny needle-like barbs sticking out from the main shaft of the dart. “I...I can see now why the suggestion would be surgery.” His voice seemed far away from himself, the shock of seeing it had him reeling. 

“We’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s like someone saw a cholla needle or a shark skin and thought “ _ let's give it branches! _ ” It’s truly sinister.” 

“H-how long...how long will surgery take?” Cavendish asked. He wanted to get back to Dakota as soon as possible. 

The doctor made an exasperated noise, “Probably several hours, it's incredibly complex, it's going to be extensive and invasive to remove and repair.” 

Cavendish could only think of Dakota. “I must speak to my partner. He is very vulnerable right now, I don’t know how he’s coping without me. It’s very important that he knows what’s happening.” 

“It’s not a good idea for you to be moving around right now Mr. Cavendish, your leg has already had some pretty severe damage, we want to keep the dart as still as possible until surgery.” 

Cavendish gave him an incredibly pained look and was about to protest when the Doctor grabbed a tablet, tapped it several times then it began ringing. “Hello, Doctor M here.” Came the voice from the other end, “Oh, hello Doctor B, how may I be of assistance?” Despite his cordial greeting there was an underlying tone of distress to the other Doctor's voice that immediately put Cavendish on edge. 

“We have your patient’s partner here, he would like to speak with him.” Doctor M replied.

“Oh, well he’s actually quite distressed right now and we’ve been having some... trouble keeping him calm, the blood tests seemed to really set him off.” 

_ Blood tests...that meant...oh no.  _

He cursed himself for once again not thinking carefully about Dakota’s condition. “Please, let me speak to him, let me see him! I may be able to calm him down...Please...” He begged, trying to remain still in order to follow the Doctors wishes. 

Doctor M handed him the tablet without hesitation, Cavendish could already hear the crying on the other end. Cavendish couldn't help calling out. “Dakota! Dakota, darling, it’s alright!” Cavendish called at the tablet.

“C-Cav? Wh-wher’re ya? I c-can’d open m-my e-eyes righd n-now…m-my arm hurts really bad, I feel aw-awful...when they...” He let out a few hard sobs before continuing,“W-when they t-touched me...it f-feld so awful...l-like b-bugs in my skin!” Dakota managed to say through sobs and sniffles. 

Cavendish’s heart ached at that. The tablet was finally given to Dakota properly and Cavendish could see his face. Cavendish let out a gasp of horror. “Dakota! Where are your sunglasses!?” 

“Donno...s-someone t-took em. A-are you o-okay? I was really worried.” Dakota sniffled, already calming down substantially. 

“I...I’ll be alright, but Dakota you need your glasses. Doctor M if you can hear me he  _ needs  _ his glasses! He will get a migraine and he can’t handle that right now!”

Doctor M’s voice sounded from offscreen, “What exactly is his medical history?” 

“Ah...well I don’t know much I’m afraid, but today I found out he has severe light sensitivity which can trigger migraines. This kind of light is much too bright, he needs his glasses or a pair from one of the agents.” 

Dakota was keeping his eyes tightly shut. “Cav where are you? Why aren’d ya here wi’me?” Dakota asked, tears slipping down his face. 

“I am not far away, but I’m afraid I’m not permitted to leave, I won’t be able to see you for a little while so I need you to behave yourself. I want you to be good for the doctors, I know it’s difficult, but they’re just trying to help.” 

Dakota sniffled and nodded with a quiet, “Okay.” 

The Doctor had returned and said a few things to Dakota before slipping a pair of P.I.G agent glasses over his eyes. Dakota cautiously opened them and looked at the tablet, eyeing the box that reflected himself. “Hey Cav, lookit me! I look badass!” He giggled, and Cavendish felt very relieved that he had come around so well. 

He smiled at his partner, but then remembered something important.“You do look very cool. Now, have you eaten?” 

“Yeah, but it wasn’d as good as the brownies you gave me.” He sounded rather grumpy about that.

“Well I’m just glad you ate. I want you to try and relax, perhaps take a nap. They might have something you can entertain yourself with as well, and Savannah might keep you company if you ask her very nicely and  _ behave  _ around her.” 

Dakota just gave him a pout in response.

“I know. I don’t want to be apart either, but I’m afraid there’s no choice, we’ll be alright though, and then we will be back together.” There was a moment they shared then, a very important moment of unsaid things. Then Cavendish looked away, his cheeks a little flushed, he wished terribly to have looked into Dakota’s eyes in that moment. “Hand me to the Doctor,” he said abruptly, regaining his composure, “I have to speak to him a little before I go.” Dakota nodded sadly but did as he was told. 

“Hello Mr. Cavendish, what can I do for you?” The Doctor asked readily.

“It’s not about me, it’s about  _ him.”  _ Cavendish replied in a sharp, hushed tone. “Please go somewhere out of earshot, I need to speak with you privately.” The Doctor quickly hurried out of the room and stood outside the door. Cavendish then continued, “I’m really trying not to be cross right now, you gave me no time to explain and asked me nothing about his situation. He is in rather good spirits, all things considered, that said there is a very serious matter to address.

“You  _ touched him.  _ You touched him, and you didn’t know that because of the drug touch -all of his senses really- but touch  _ especially _ , are hypersensitive right now. Not only that, but the way in which he...perceives touch is...altered.” Cavendish sighed and runned a temple, “He no doubt felt  _ extremely  _ violated.”

The Doctor's eyes were wide, he stared at Cavendish through the screen. 

Cavendish continued.“So if you could just...refrain from touching him any more, that would be ideal.” He said with a saccharine tone before his face suddenly hardened and his tone turned dark, “And if I hear a single word from him about anything upsetting him, then mark my words, there will be  _ hell to pay.”  _

They discussed a little more what should be accommodated for Dakota, and then, it was time for surgery. 

…..

Savanna had been sitting, bored and alone, with her arm in a bone repair device. 

She was feeling altogether quite frustrated. The entire time since it all started she had been trying desperately to maintain her composure. Still, she had vented inappropriately, more than once to boot. 

She sighed deeply, in truth she was completely exhausted. Keeping herself out of her own head but also in the moment was a taxing endeavour. Now, without any distractions to keep her occupied, it was even more difficult.

This still wasn’t the time or place, but at least she was alone, the last thing she wanted was the other two to see her break down. She didn’t want it to happen yet, it would only weaken her and she needed to stay strong until this all blew over. She would just have to push through the growing heaviness in her chest.

She needed to distract herself, so her thoughts turned to the guys. Cavendish was likely having the dart removed, that meant Dakota was alone.

Dakota...what was his role in all of this? Why him? Why Cavendish? Why not just kill them too? What about herself? Why was she still here? 

_ Agh! This is only making it worse!  _

She pressed the  _ HELP  _ button on the bone machine. 

Someone was there only seconds later, “Miss Savannah, are you alright?” the nurse asked, deeply concerned. 

Savannah hesitated in her reply. “I...I need to go see my colleague, please tell me I’m allowed a break from this thing?” She sounded far more desperate than she intended, it was a bad sign.

The nurse visibly relaxed, “Oh, yes that’s no problem! Let me help you out then you can go wherever you like that permits guest access.” 

…..

There was a soft knock at the doorway of Dakota’s room. Dakota looked up and absolutely beamed at the sight of Savannah, she didn't miss how he quickly rubbed his palms over his cheeks and sniffled as she entered. “Ayyy! Whad’s cookin’ good lookin’!?” He seemed genuinely relieved to see her.

She snorted and rolled her eyes at that but replied in good humor, “Not a thing, chicken wing.” 

“Well daaang!” He said with a laugh as she pulled up a chair beside his bed. He sat up and crossed his legs, turning to face her, his face turning more serious. “Fer real though, how ya doin’?” 

She sighed and swallowed heavily. “Not great. I’ve done a lot of really insane missions, but this...this is just…” She trailed off, “This is really starting to get to me.” She admitted.

Dakota sighed as well, leaned back and ran his fingers through his greasy feeling hair. “Me too. You guys need me now n’ I can’d help at all. I feel so useless, I been nuthin’ bud a burden.” He frowned, and a tear slipped from under the mirrored glasses. “M’tryin, ‘m tryin my besd... ‘N ’m really sorry thad I was so rude…” A tear rolled down his other cheek.

Her brow furrowed as she took in his disconnected thoughts. “Ah, no, I was the one who was out of line, I was out of line with Milo too and Cavendish put me in my place both times. He’s a good man.” She said it in earnest and Dakota couldn’t help but smile. 

“He really is, I hope he’s okay, he wouldn’d tell me whad was goin’ on but he said ’e was okay. ’M sdill real worried though.” He said quietly as he toyed with the bedsheet. 

“He didn’t tell you because he didn't want to worry you, of course you’re worried either way.” Savannah said, with a roll of her eyes. 

He nodded his head, body bobbing as he did.

“Well, I know what’s going on and it won’t be pretty, but he’ll be fine.” She reassured him.

“Y-yer sure? Yeh promise?” Savannah was caught off guard by the sheer distress in Dakota’s voice and the sudden shift in his apparent anxiety. “’C-cause I’m s-so scared...I can’d go back, if somethin’ happens…” He curled in on himself, “I-if he...if he dies again…’n righd now I can’d safe him, I...I c-couln’t ever s-sdop him b’fore...”

Savannah just stared as he broke down. 

“Dakota…” She began uneasily, “What do you mean  _ if he dies again? _ ” 

“I really shounen’d dell you, bud id don’ even madder anymore ’cause id’s all gone anyway.” He sat up and looked at her, tears streaming down his face, “H-he died like...t-twice a week...for th’ pasd den years. ’S why I hade leavin’ ’im ’lone, ’s why I don’ sleep much anymore, ’s parda how I g-god h-hooked o-on oxy.” He started sobbing, his entire body trembling like a leaf.

It was a lot to take in. 

Savannah was rather shocked, she did the calculations in her head and her jaw dropped. “You...you’re saying there’s over two hundred of you...on this timeline, in this time right now?” 

Dakota just nodded. 

“God, you love him so fucking much. I didn’t really understand what you saw in him before but with everything that’s happened I...I get it now, or I’m starting to anyway.” 

“He doesn’d feel th’same aboud me though, bud tha’s’okey.” Dakota sniffled. 

Savannah rolled her eyes and smiled, but didn’t say anything, those two oblivious idiots had to work it out for themselves. 

She wasn’t sure exactly how to distract Dakota from his woes. She found herself asking  _ What would Cavendish do?  _ And immediately replying with a  _ Nope, no way, not gonna happen!  _ Cavendish would not take kindly to  _ that,  _ but clearly he needed  _ something.  _

“Hey, have you eaten properly? I had one of those replenisher bars and it helped but I want real food.” She said it with a hint of complaint.

Dakota sniffled some more and then sat up. “Y-yeah, same.” He scrubbed the tears off his face and gave himself a little shake. 

_ Well what do you know? It worked. _

“We’c’n use this,” He held up the tablet, “to call somebody and ged some food, cause I really don’d wanna ged up, n’ I don’d wanna be left ’lone righd now.” 

She nodded and pressed the  _ assist _ button. “Oh hello Miss Savannah, visiting with Dakota? What can we do for you?” He sounded a little nervous.

“We would like some food from the cafeteria, I would like a chicken caesar salad and Dakota…?” 

“Lodds snacks, jus’ a lodsa snacks, swede, saldy, whatever there is.” 

“Alright, anything else we can do?” He sounded much less nervous now. 

“Nope, that's it thanks.”

“Okay, we’ll have that for you in just a few minutes.” 

After she hung up Dakota sighed. “Thanks fer comin’ t’see me. I know ya don’ ’xactly like me, so I really ’preciate id.” 

Savannah rolled her eyes, “I don’t actually dislike you as much as I seem to, I just have a reputation to keep up. Cavendish put some sense into me earlier, he said we’re all we have left, that we have to trust each other, and he’s right.” 

“Cafendish said thad?” Savannah could practically feel the love bursting from him as he asked.

She smiled, “Yeah. He did.” 

He smiled a lovesick smile, but it faded quickly. “I know ya said he’s gonna be okay, bud ’m sdill really worried.”

Savannah closed her eyes, took a deep breath and hoped what she was about to do wouldn’t end up getting her hurt worse. 

She held her palm out to Dakota. He looked from her to her outstretched hand and back at her, confusion clear on his face. “Really?” 

She shrugged, “Friends comfort friends, I don't mind if you...whatever, you can’t help it, it’s not your fault.” 

“Friends-?” 

She cut him off, “Yes, friends. Now do you want to hold my hand or not?” 

Dakota gently slid his hand into hers, and she squeezed very gently. She was fully prepared for him to make some lewd sound, shudder, draw a breath,  _ something.  _ Instead he simply let out a little surprised “Oh!” and giggled a little. “I wasn’d ’spectin’ thad.” 

Savannah thought she really shouldn’t ask, but curiosity got the better of her. “What?” 

“’S different, feels more...sofd ‘n warm. Id’s nod crazy like Cav, I don’d feel…” He hesitated and blushed, “y’ know...bud ’s nice. Comfy.” 

“Huh, well, that’s interesting. Bit of a relief I guess.”

“Yeah, now Cav wont hafda kick your ass!” He laughed.

There was a tapping at the door, Savannah and Dakota looked over to see a P.I.G employee with a very large salad in one hand and a bag full of snacks in the other. “I tried to get as much variety as I could, the salad is freshly prepared, that’s part of why it took so long.” He explained. 

“Sounds wonderful, thank you.” Savannah said. He looked awkwardly at her broken arm for a moment then at her hand tucked into Dakota’s. 

She rolled her eyes at him irritably. “Just put the stuff on the bed thanks.” 

Once he had left Dakota said, “He makes a good poind, how you gonna ead that?” 

“We’ll just have to let go.” She stated matter-of-factly. 

“Awee bu’s only been a few minudes- Hey! I godda free hand, I c'n feed you!” 

Savannah snorted at that, “No, I’m not going to let you do that, you’re going to stab me in the face! Besides, don’t you want both hands for your own food?” 

“Ah haha, good poind. Jus’ promise we’cn do it again afder?” 

“Yeah, sure.” She said with just a hint of a smile. 

Savannah had thought she was going to be put off by Dakota’s reactions to the various foods. Instead, she actually found his behaviour quite funny, it was a welcome distraction for both of them. 

After they ate they chatted for a while, but it wasn't long before Dakota started getting very sleepy. She waited until his breathing became soft and regular and his grip on her hand relaxed before slipping away.


End file.
